The perception of emotion in artificial agents

Given recent technological developments in robotics, artificial intelligence and virtual reality, it is perhaps unsurprising that the arrival of emotionally expressive and reactive artificial agents is imminent. However, if such agents are to become integrated into our social milieu, it is imperative to establish an understanding of whether and how humans perceive emotion in artificial agents. In this review, we incorporate recent findings from social robotics, virtual reality, psychology, and neuroscience to examine how people recognize and respond to emotions displayed by artificial agents. First, we review how people perceive emotions expressed by an artificial agent, such as facial and bodily expressions and vocal tone. Second, we evaluate the similarities and differences in the consequences of perceived emotions in artificial compared to human agents. Besides accurately recognizing the emotional state of an artificial agent, it is critical to understand how humans respond to those emotions. Does interacting with an angry robot induce the same responses in people as interacting with an angry person? Similarly, does watching a robot rejoice when it wins a game elicit similar feelings of elation in the human observer? Here we provide an overview of the current state of emotion expression and perception in social robotics, as well as a clear articulation of the challenges and guiding principles to be addressed as we move ever closer to truly emotional artificial agents

How Do You Like Me in This: User Embodiment Preferences for Companion Agents

We investigate the relationship between the embodiment of an artificial companion and user perception and interaction with it. In a Wizard of Oz study, 42 users interacted with one of two embodiments: a physical robot or a virtual agent on a screen through a role-play of secretarial tasks in an office, with the companion providing essential assistance. Findings showed that participants in both condition groups when given the choice would prefer to interact with the robot companion, mainly for its greater physical or social presence. Subjects also found the robot less annoying and talked to it more naturally. However, this preference for the robotic embodiment is not reflected in the users’ actual rating of the companion or their interaction with it. We reflect on this contradiction and conclude that in a task-based context a user focuses much more on a companion’s behaviour than its embodiment. This underlines the feasibility of our efforts in creating companions that migrate between embodiments while maintaining a consistent identity from the user’s point of view

Robotic Rabbit Companions: amusing or a nuisance?

Most of the studies in human-robot interaction involve controlled experiments in a laboratory and only a limited number of studies have put robotic companions into people’s home. Introducing robots into a real-life environment does not only pose many technical challenges but also raises several methodological issues. And even though there might be a gain in ecological validity of the findings, there are other drawbacks that limit the validity of the results. In this paper we reflect on some of these issues based on the experience we gained in the SERA project where a robotic companion was put in the homes of a few people for ten days. We try to draw some general lessons from this experience

Design Research on Robotic Products for School Environments

Advancements in robotic research have led to the design of a number of robotic products that can interact with people. In this research, a school environment was selected for a practical test of robotic products. For this, the robot “Tiro” was built, with the aim of supporting the learning activities of children. The possibility of applying robotic products was then tested through example lessons using Tiro. To do this, the robot design process and user-centred HRI evaluation framework were studied, and observations of robotic products were made via a field study on the basis of these understandings. Three different field studies were conducted, and interactions between children and robotic products were investigated. As a result, it was possible to understand how emotional interaction and verbal interaction affect the development of social relationships. Early results regarding this and coding schemes for video protocol analysis were gained. In this preliminary study, the findings are summarized and several design implications from insight grouping are suggested. These will help robot designers grasp how various factors of robotic products may be adopted in the everyday lives of people. Keywords: Robotic Products Design, HRI Evaluation, User-Centered HRI.</p

生命維持にかかわる生理現象を介した人間 : ロボットのコミュニケーションと身体情動モデルの設計

関西大学In this dissertation, we focus on physiological phenomena of robots as the expressive modality of their inner states and discuss the effectiveness of a robot expressing physiological phenomena, which are indispensable for living. We designed a body-emotion model showing the relationship between a) emotion as the inner state of the robot and b) physiological phenomena as physical changes, and we discuss the communication between humans and robots through involuntary physiological expression based on the model. In recent years, various robots for use in mental health care and communication support in medical/nursing care have been developed. The purpose of these systems is to enable communication between a robot and patients by an active approach of the robot through sound and body movement. In contrast to conventional approaches, our research is based on involuntary emotional expression through physiological phenomena of the robot. Physiological phenomena including breathing, heartbeat, and body temperature are essential functions for life activities, and these are closely related to the inner state of humans because physiological phenomena are caused by the emotional reaction of the limbic system transmitted via the autonomic nervous system. In human-robot communication through physical contact, we consider that physiological phenomena are one of the most important nonverbal modalities of the inner state as involuntary expressions. First, we focused on the robots\u27 expression of physiological phenomena, proposed the body-emotion model (BEM), which concerns the relationship between the inner state of robots and their involuntary physical reactions. We proposed a stuffed-toy robot system: BREAR―which has a mechanical structure to express the breathing, heartbeat, temperature and bodily movement. The result of experiment showed that a heartbeat, breathing and body temperature can express the robot\u27s living state and that the breathing speed is highly related to the robot\u27s emotion of arousal. We reviewed the experimental results and emotional generation mechanisms and discussed the design of the robot based on BEM. Based on our verification results, we determined that the design of the BEM-which involves the perception of the external situation, the matching with the memory, the change of the autonomic nervous parameter and the representation of the physiological phenomena - that is based on the relationship between the autonomic nervous system and emotional arousal is effective. Second, we discussed indirect communication between humans and robots through physiological phenomena - which consist of the breathing, heartbeats and body temperature - that express robots\u27 emotions. We set a situation with joint attention from the robot and user on emotional content and evaluated whether both the user\u27s emotional response to the content and the user\u27s impression of relationship between the user and the robot were changed by the physiological expressions of the robot. The results suggest that the physiological expression of the robot makes the user\u27s own emotions in the experience more excited or suppressed and that the robot\u27s expression increases impressions of closeness and sensitivity. Last, we discussed the future perspective of human-robot communication by physiological phenomena. Regarding the representation of the robots\u27 sense of life, it is thought that the user\u27s recognition that the robot is alive improves not only the moral effect on the understanding of the finiteness of life but also the attachment to the robot in long-term communication. Regarding the emotional expression mechanism based on life, it is expected that the robot can display a complicated internal state close to that of humans by combining intentionally expressed emotions and involuntary emotional expressions. If a robot can express a combination of realistic voluntary expressions, such as facial expressions and body movements, in combination with real involuntary expressions by using the real intentions and lying, it can be said that the robot has a more complicated internal state than that of a pet. By using a robot expressing a living state through physiological phenomena, it can be expected that the effect of mental care will exceed that of animal therapy, and we expect to provide care and welfare support in place of human beings

What are you or who are you? The emergence of social interaction between dog and Unidentified Moving Object (UMO)

Robots offer new possibilities for investigating animal social behaviour. This method enhances controllability and reproducibility of experimental techniques, and it allows also the experimental separation of the effects of bodily appearance (embodiment) and behaviour. In the present study we examined dogs’ interactive behaviour in a problem solving task (in which the dog has no access to the food) with three different social partners, two of which were robots and the third a human behaving in a robot-like manner. The Mechanical UMO (Unidentified Moving Object) and the Mechanical Human differed only in their embodiment, but showed similar behaviour toward the dog. In contrast, the Social UMO was interactive, showed contingent responsiveness and goal-directed behaviour and moved along varied routes. The dogs showed shorter looking and touching duration, but increased gaze alternation toward the Mechanical Human than to the Mechanical UMO. This suggests that dogs’ interactive behaviour may have been affected by previous experience with typical humans. We found that dogs also looked longer and showed more gaze alternations between the food and the Social UMO compared to the Mechanical UMO. These results suggest that dogs form expectations about an unfamiliar moving object within a short period of time and they recognise some social aspects of UMOs’ behaviour. This is the first evidence that interactive behaviour of a robot is important for evoking dogs’ social responsiveness