We have all instinctively clung to another person when we are afraid, if only like a child clutching its mother’s hand. However, if that person is also fearful, this behavior may not have had the desired calming effect. And a new study, published in the journal Feelingsuggests that a robot that mimics human breathing can also transmit startled emotions.
The researchers developed round, airy robots with motorized chests that can simulate breathing by expanding and contracting. More than 100 participants held these robots, which breathed in a steady pattern, in an accelerated “fearful” manner, or not at all, while participants watched a scary clip from The Shining.
The team found that the heart rate of people holding hyperventilating robots increased the most, compared to those holding cooled or stationary robots. Participants reported perceiving the robots as “afraid”, supporting the idea that they had “captured” the robot’s emotional state. “It is the first study to show that we can worsen emotional experiences by using breathing robots,” says psychologist Zachary Witkower of the University of Amsterdam, who led the study. “It has implications for understanding human-robot interaction.”
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Interactions between humans and robots are usually studied through visual and verbal exchanges. “The touch aspect is new and interesting,” says Eric Vanman, a psychologist at the University of Queensland in Australia who studies human interaction with new technologies. “It will probably prompt other scientists to look at the information we get from touch.”
In addition, participants holding steadily breathing robots showed slower heart rates. This difference was not significant, but it suggests that contact with a steady breath can calm the emotions. Previous research supports this: “There is evidence that touching animals and humans can have calming effects,” says Vanman.
If so, researchers can develop therapeutic devices that help us achieve desired emotional states. “We have already started discussions with clinical psychologists,” says Witkower. “We are focused on developing dynamic robots to regulate anxiety.” The work could also inspire wearable devices that safely enhance exciting experiences, such as video games and horror movies, adds Vanman.
Vanman would like to see future studies measure respiration, to check whether the pulse change is linked to people who match the robots’ breathing pattern, as well as other indicators. Witkower and his colleagues plan to track more markers in future studies, and they hope to investigate whether breathing robots can sense and respond to human physiology automatically.
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