Robot touch makes people feel good — especially when accompanied by robot small talk

By Matthew Warren For many of us, the past two years have demonstrated how important the touch of others is to our emotional wellbeing — and how hard it is to go without it. But in the absence of physical contact from other humans, could robots provide an adequate substitute?  Past work has found that robotic touch can elicit positive emotions in people — and now a new study in Scientific Reports finds that the effect is better when the robots talk at the same time. Taishi Sawabe from Nara Institute of Science and Technology and colleagues tested the effects of robotic touch and speech on 31 Japanese volunteers. In some trials, participants received gentle strokes on their back from a robotic arm. In others, they heard a synthesised voice saying phrases caregivers might use, such as “Hello. How are you doing? Did you sleep well last night?” or “Hello. Please take care of yourself. It has been chilly these days”. And in a third kind of trial, they received the robotic touch and heard the robot speaking simultaneously. After each trial, participants rated how positive or negative their mood was, as well as their emotional arousal (high arousal refers to feelings like excitement; low arousal to feelings like relaxation), and rated how human-like the robot was. The team also measured participants’ muscle activity in the facial muscles involved in smiling, and recorded their skin conductance, a measure of physiological arousal. Participants reported...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Emotion Technology Source Type: blogs