Inviting Robot Touch (By Design)

Abstract

What is the role of touch in inviting social interaction with robots? Forms of functional haptics in collaboration and socially assistive robots, for example, indicate one pathway. But what of more naturalistic and affective forms of touch that are more inviting, that encourage pro-social behaviours? This is a tale of three loops. First, the haptic feedback loop, where human–human touch still remains underexplored, and where human–machine touch is produced through mechanical engineering as “force display” and perceived by the user as tactile. Second, the affective feedback loop, courtesy of Höök and Dumouchel and Damiano, where technical systems influence, and are influenced by, a human user corporeally. Bringing these loops together encourages interaction design to consider how touch and affect may more effectively invite a range of users to interact with social robots, and their role in the perception of Artificial Empathy.