Robots in society, business and culture: October 2026

A Toyohashi University of Technology team tested whether a robot's approach direction changes how fast it seems to move . Across five experiments using a real mobile robot and virtual reality, 92% of participants showed the same bias: at the same physical speed, a robot approaching from behind seemed faster than one approaching from the front. In the first experiment, participants learned two reference speeds--0.5 and 1.0 metres per second--then judged a robot approaching at speeds between those values. Follow-up experiments suggested the effect wasn't explained by the robot's appearance or motor noise. The researchers link it instead to visual factors involved in turning to look at something coming from behind.