Embodiment and gender interact in alignment to TTS voices.

Abstract

The current study tests subjects’ vocal alignment toward femaleand male text-to-speech (TTS) voices presented via threesystems: Amazon Echo, Nao, and Furhat. These systems vary intheir physical form, ranging from a cylindrical speaker (Echo), toa small robot (Nao), to a human-like robot bust (Furhat). We testwhether this cline of personification (cylinder < mini robot