Security is one of the possible fields in human society in which robotics can be applied. Human guards usually perform a range of tasks in which a robot can provide help. A security company collaborated with us in the design and development of a robot that should serve in patrolling large indoor areas, interacting with humans, welcoming, providing information, and be a telepresence platform for the human security guards. In this paper we present a preliminary experiment which involved this new robot in two roles: security and guidance. The former being important especially during night, and the latter being common in daytime, when guards are usually interacting with people who ask them information. The results of the experiment with 55 participants showed how the perception of the appearance of the robot and its effectiveness are influenced by its behaviour and its related perceived more authoritative or kinder traits. These results provide useful indication for the employment of robot guards in a real world situation.

The objective of this research is to investigate the personality factors that influence human decision-making in particular scenarios such as during the interaction with a robot or a human counterpart. We conducted the experiment in a public environment in which participants were approached by either a human or a robot agent. The agent asked a verbal request in a direct or indirect manner that participants could accept or decline. We used the Ten Item Personality Measure (TIPI) in order to measure the personality traits of the agent that had a strong influence in the acceptance decision of the participants. Our results suggest that within the context that our experiment took place, the humanoid robot was more effective at influencing human-decision making than the human agent, in particular when indirect request was used. The personality traits that made the robot to be more effective were: `extrovert', `enthusiastic' and `sympathetic'.