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We are developing and evaluating an architecture that will allow these robots to perceive, model, and generate social rhythms such that the robot’s behaviors are synchronized with those of a human interactor. We believe that rhythmic synchrony will be as important for establishing engagement, rapport, and comfort between a robot and a person as it is between people.

For example, synchrony between the tempo of a speaker’s voice, the punctuation of the speaker’s gestures, and the frequency of a listener’s nodding is characteristic of smooth and comfortable interactions. Social scientists such as William S. Condon and Adam Kendon have identified interactional synchrony as a phenomenon that plays an important role in the regulation and coordination of movements, vocalizations, and other social cues.

Thanks, Greg.