Robot sound, encompassing both consequential operational noise and intentionally designed auditory cues, plays an important role in human-robot interaction (HRI). Developing a deeper understanding of how robot sounds influence human experience, and how technologies such as augmented reality (AR) modulate these effects, can enable the design of more socially acceptable robots and more effective, intuitive human-robot interfaces. In this work, we present a three-part mixed-methods study (N = 51) that investigates (i) the effects of consequential robot sounds on human perception under varying degrees of physical colocation, (ii) human accuracy in localizing spatial audio cues delivered via augmented reality, and (iii) the use of augmented spatial audio cues for functional and transformative communication during collaborative handover tasks, in comparison to non-AR sound designs. Contrary to prior findings, our results indicate that the consequential sounds of a Kinova Gen3 manipulator did not negatively affect participants' perceptions of the robot. Participants demonstrated high accuracy in localizing lateral spatial cues, whereas frontal cues proved more challenging, delineating conditions under which spatial auditory feedback is most effective. Qualitative findings further reveal that augmented spatial audio cues can simultaneously convey task-relevant information while fostering a sense of warmth and reducing user discomfort during interaction. Together, these findings elucidate the perceptual effects of consequential robot sound and position sound, particularly augmented spatial audio, as a meaningful yet underutilized design resource for human-robot interaction.

翻译：机器人声音涵盖了结果性操作噪声与有意设计的听觉提示，在人类-机器人交互（HRI）中扮演着重要角色。深入理解机器人声音如何影响人类体验，以及增强现实（AR）等技术如何调节这些效应，有助于设计更具社会接受度的机器人以及更高效、更直观的人机交互界面。本研究采用三部分混合方法实验（N = 51），考察了：（i）在不同物理共位程度下，结果性机器人声音对人类感知的影响；（ii）人类通过增强现实定位空间音频线索的准确性；（iii）在协作交接任务中，相较于非AR声音设计，增强型空间音频线索用于功能性及变革性交流的效用。与先前研究结论相反，我们的结果表明，Kinova Gen3机械臂的结果性声音并未对参与者对机器人的感知产生负面影响。参与者在定位侧向空间线索时表现出高准确性，而前方线索则更具挑战性，这一结果界定了空间听觉反馈最有效的条件。定性研究进一步揭示，增强型空间音频线索能够在传递任务相关信息的同时，促进交互过程中的温暖感并减少用户不适。综上，这些发现阐明了结果性机器人声音的感知效应，并将声音——尤其是增强型空间音频——定位为人机交互中一种有意义但仍未被充分利用的设计资源。