When we go for a walk with friends, we can observe an interesting effect: From step lengths to arm movements - our movements unconsciously align; they synchronize. Prior research found that this synchronization is a crucial aspect of human relations that strengthens social cohesion and trust. Generalizing from these findings in synchronization theory, we propose a dynamical approach that can be applied in the design of non-humanoid robots to increase trust. We contribute the results of a controlled experiment with 51 participants exploring our concept in a between-subjects design. For this, we built a prototype of a simple non-humanoid robot that can bend to follow human movements and vary the movement synchronization patterns. We found that synchronized movements lead to significantly higher ratings in an established questionnaire on trust between people and automation but did not influence the willingness to spend money in a trust game.

翻译：当我们与朋友散步时，可以观察到一种有趣的现象：从步幅到手臂动作——我们的动作会无意识地趋于一致；它们会同步化。已有研究发现，这种同步性是人际关系的关键方面，能够增强社会凝聚力与信任。基于同步理论中的这些发现，我们提出了一种可应用于非人形机器人设计中的动力学方法，以提升信任度。我们贡献了一项包含51名参与者的受控实验结果，采用被试间设计探索该概念。为此，我们构建了一个简单的非人形机器人原型，它能够弯曲以跟随人类动作，并改变运动同步模式。我们发现，在衡量人与自动化系统之间信任度的标准问卷中，同步运动显著提高了评分，但并未影响信任博弈中的花钱意愿。