Abstract
Hugs are one of the first forms of contact and affection humans experience. Due to their prevalence and health benefits, roboticists are naturally interested in having robots one day hug humans as seamlessly as humans hug other humans. This project’s purpose is to evaluate human responses to different robot physical characteristics and hugging behaviors. Specifically, we aim to test the hypothesis that a soft, warm, touch-sensitive PR2 humanoid robot can provide humans with satisfying hugs by matching both their hugging pressure and their hugging duration. Thirty relatively young and rather technical participants experienced and evaluated twelve hugs with the robot, divided into three randomly ordered trials that focused on physical robot characteristics (single factor, three levels) and nine randomly ordered trials with low, medium, and high hug pressure and duration (two factors, three levels each). Analysis of the results showed that people significantly prefer soft, warm hugs over hard, cold hugs. Furthermore, users prefer hugs that physically squeeze them and release immediately when they are ready for the hug to end. Taking part in the experiment also significantly increased positive user opinions of robots and robot use.
Highlights
Hugging another person gives each participant social support, relieves stress, lowers blood pressure, and increases oxytocin levels [7]
With the health benefits and prevalence of hugs in daily human interactions, it is natural that roboticists have tried to artificially create this gesture
Because of these survey results, as well as the multiple positive comments about the inclusion of the foam, and the number of people who displayed a lack of interest in hugging the Hard-Cold robot, we conclude that people prefer hugging a soft robot to a hard robot
Summary
Hugging another person gives each participant social support, relieves stress, lowers blood pressure, and increases oxytocin levels [7]. The kind received from hugging or firmly touching, has been shown to relieve anxiety for people with these disorders [19] Because they require a loud pump and air flow, inflatable garments are often obtrusive and conspicuous. The Squeeze Machine is operated by the user, who can control the applied pressure and duration of the encounter, gradually building up over time as he or she becomes more comfortable. While these artificial hug recreations lack the primary component of a second partner, they do address the importance of physical touch
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