Abstract:

Background:
The use of robots was on the rise before the pandemic. Social robotics professor Johan Hoorn of Hong Kong Polytechnic University, whose research has included work with Sophia, the well-known humanoid robot, said that although the technology is still in relative infancy, the pandemic could accelerate a relationship between humans and robots. Hanson Robotics said four models, including Sophia, would start rolling out of factories in the first half of 2021, just as researchers predict the pandemic will open new opportunities for the robotics industry.
Analyzing the last decade, neuroscience has significantly influenced and improved the field of marketing research and the interaction between the two has helped in generating more valuable insights, making a generous contribution to academic research. Neuromarketing bridges the study of consumer behavior with neuroscience and offers important tools for interpreting consumers’ mind and reactions without conscious manipulation by respondents.

Objective:
To analyze Romanian consumers’ perceptions towards humanoid robots used in educational field.

Methodology:
We organized an experiment using Eye Tracking (ET) solutions and Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) as neuromarketing tools to help us map the respondents’ perceptions about humanoid robots used in educational domain. In the framework of an experimental design, 20 volunteers (10 women, 10 men) were split into 4 groups of 5 persons per group. The minimum, median and maximum ages of the participants were 20, 43 and 65, respectively. The data obtained were interpreted by the ET software and the GSR software. This research seeks to identify the expressed and implicit perception of the respondents as measured by the ET and the sweat activity as measured by the GSR .

Results:
On the basis of the responses received from the respondents and the data analysis, the following are the major findings of the study: people bellow 45 years old are more willing to attend a course presented by a humanoid robot; there is no difference in preferences if the robot is a woman or a man; people over 50 years old present a higher level of attention to the human speaker; men find a higher interactivity in the relationship with a humanoid robot as a teacher; women feel more motivated in learning from a human teacher than a humanoid robot.

Conclusions:
A higher level of information and education of consumers in robotic field will imply increased consumers’ skills in the decision-making process in this field. A real understanding of the consumer’s perceptions about the humanoid robots will help the robotics industry implement efficient projects and designs of the appropriate humanoid robots, more and more useful in educational field, due to the Covid-19 pandemic need of social distancing. The present paper reveals the efficiency of neuromarketing tools in obtaining useful results that will have great educational impact.

Originality:
According to specialized literature, the use of neuromarketing tools in determining the perceptions towards humanoid robots, especially in pandemic context, is rarely encountered.

Future research:
The prospects for the evolution of humanoid robots are to play an increasingly important role in human life and to become the "friend of the future". That is why it is of great interest for future research to investigate consumers’ perceptions towards the penetration of humanoid robots in other areas of social life aside from education.

Keywords:

Neuroscience, consumer behavior, neuromarketing, academic research, educational impact, Eye Tracking, Galvanic Skin Response, marketing research.