This paper explores how feminist and queer theories can inform voice design in technology, particularly in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). It argues that biological sex and gender are socially constructed and performative, and that voice is a site where identity is both enacted and interpreted. Building on this framework, the paper examines the political and cultural implications of labels such as “ambiguous”, “queer” and “nonbinary” in voice design. While “ambiguous” voices aim to reduce gendering broadly, “queer” and “nonbinary” voices intentionally represent gender-non-conforming people and challenge binary thinking. To ground this analysis in community perspectives, we report findings from a survey with nonbinary participants, examining how they label voices constructed from gender-expansive individuals and which terms they find most affirming. With this work, we offer practical guidelines for labelling voices in ways that affirm queer and nonbinary identities, clarifying when terms like “queer” and “nonbinary” are preferable and when “ambiguous” may be appropriate. Recognising these distinctions is key to ethical, inclusive design.

The “gender” of intelligent agents, virtual characters, social robots, and other agentic machines has emerged as a fundamental topic in studies of people’s interactions with computers. Perceptions of agent gender can help explain user attitudes and behaviours—from preferences to toxicity to stereotyping—across a variety of systems and contexts of use. Yet, standards in capturing perceptions of agent gender do not exist. A scoping review was conducted to clarify how agent gender has been operationalized—labelled, defined, and measured—as a perceptual variable. One-third of studies manipulated but did not measure agent gender. Norms in operationalizations remain obscure, limiting comprehension of results, congruity in measurement, and comparability for meta-analyses. The dominance of the gender binary model and latent anthropocentrism have placed arbitrary limits on knowledge generation and reified the status quo. We contribute a systematically-developed and theory-driven meta-level framework that offers operational clarity and practical guidance for greater rigour and inclusivity.

Robot design often involves gendered choices that shape Human–Robot Interaction. Voice is a key channel through which gendering occurs, yet little is known about how it influences people’s mental images of robots. This study examines how ambiguous, feminine, and masculine voices affect physical robot design. Participants (N = 45) listened to robot voices (ambiguous, feminine, masculine), built a physical prototype, took part in an interview to explain their design process, and concluded by evaluating both the voice and the robot prototype they built. The findings show that although participants’ explicit ratings of the robots showed no differences across conditions, analyses of the physical prototypes and interview data revealed consistent patterns, suggesting that voice strongly shaped design choices. Specifically, we found that ambiguous voices led to less human-like forms and more hybrid human-machine-like and masculine forms, whereas masculine voices encouraged more human-like prototypes. The results suggest that starting robot design from voice, particularly ambiguous voices, helps reduce gendering and fosters more inclusive robots.

Voice interfaces come in many forms in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), such as voice assistants and robots. These are often gendered, i.e. they sound masculine or feminine. Recently, there has been a surge in creating gender-ambiguous voices, aiming to make voice interfaces more inclusive and less prone to stereotyping. In this paper, we present the first systematic review of research on gender-ambiguous voices in HCI literature, with an in-depth analysis of 36 articles. We report on the definition and availability of gender-ambiguous voices, creation methods, user perception and evaluation techniques. We conclude with several concrete action points: clarifying key terminology and definitions for terms such as gender-ambiguous, gender-neutral, and non-binary; conducting an initial acoustic analysis of gender-ambiguous voices; taking initial steps toward standardising evaluation metrics for these voices; establishing an open-source repository of gender-ambiguous voices; and developing a framework for their creation and use. These recommendations provide important insights for fostering the development and adoption of inclusive voice technologies.

When a robot is developed, it usually has well-defined physical and occupational characteristics that are often gendered. This can influence the Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) experience and also risks fostering harmful gender stereotypes in society. One factor contributing to gender attribution to robots is their voice, which can be manipulated and changed to fit any need. Thanks to the recent development of gender-ambiguous voices, this provides an interesting research space to investigate if this modality can reduce robot gendering. Our research investigates whether these voices influence how people picture a robot in different occupational contexts. We asked participants to sketch a robot after listening to either a gender-ambiguous voice presenting a neutral, feminine, masculine scenario, a female voice presenting a feminine scenario, or a male voice presenting a masculine scenario. Results indicate that an ambiguous voice influences gender associations, as participants were less likely to assign a gender to their sketched robots when exposed to an ambiguous voice, compared to a male or female voice. This finding highlights the potential of deploying ambiguous voices to reduce gender biases in HRI, even in stereotypically gendered roles, such as security guards or secretaries.

Assistive technologies are vital for individuals with physical limitations, and understanding the diverse impact of physical pain is crucial for designing effective assistive robotic solutions. Through an iterative study, we aim to develop comprehensive design recommendations that cover personalization, concealment, compatibility, ease of use, preventive measures, skin-friendliness, affordability, adaptability, and multimodal features. These recommendations prioritize user experience and acceptance, ultimately contributing to innovative and user-centric assistive robotic technologies.

Abstract This paper presents an Internet of Musical Things system designed to enhance the singing practices of conventional vocal ensembles with electronic sounds generated by smartphones. The system comprises a small loudspeaker connected to a smartphone running a web-based app that generates sounds locally to the chorister, who uses it while singing. An evaluation of the user experience was conducted through three experiments involving a small choir of 9 choristers and a conductor. In the first experiment, the system was utilized in a co-located setting, where choristers shared the same physical space. In the second experiment, the system was employed in a remote setting, where geographically displaced choristers were connected through a networked music performance system. In the third experiment, a hybrid condition was implemented where part of the choir was co-located and part was remotely connected. Overall, results show that the application can be successfully utilized to augment the practice and experience of choir singing, leading to novel forms of musical expression. We provide a critical reflection where we discuss the lessons learned, strengths, limitations, and possible future developments.