Robot Expressing Emotion While Reading Text Messages? Scientists Invent a Device That May Help Enhance Social Interactions

Researchers from the University of Tsukuba's Faculty of Engineering, Information, and Systems recently developed a handheld social robot that can express emotions by shifting an internal weight as it reads text messages, possibly enhancing digital interpersonal interactions.

According to a Mirage News report, scientists devised the "text mediation robot" to help users control their anger, particularly when receiving "upsetting news.

Essentially, this invention may help social interaction as everyone moves towards a world of increasingly digital communications.

While a quick text message apology is a fast and simple way for friends to let others know they will be late for a planned meet-up, it frequently misses the human element that would go along with an explanation face-to-face or even just over the phone.

It is possible to be more upsetting when one cannot identify or distinguish the emotional weight behind his friends' regret at making them wait.

Expressing Simulated Emotions

The scientists built OMOY, a handheld robot equipped with a movable weight activated by mechanical components inside the body. As described in an Azo Robotics report, the robot could convey simulated emotions by shifting the internal weight. OMOY was deployed to function as a go-between for reading text messages.

For example, a text with frustrating or unwelcoming news could be followed by encouragement by the robot not to feel bad or even sympathize with the user.

According to the study's author Professor Fuhimide Tanaka, with the medium of written digital communication, the absence of social feedback redirect focus from the sender "and onto the content of the message itself."

Mediator Robot for Suppressing Anger

The researchers devised the mediator robot so that it can suppress the anger of the user, as well as other negative interpersonal motivations like thoughts of revenge, and rather "fostered forgiveness."

To get results, they tested 94 people with a message such as "I'm sorry, I'm late." Other messages contain something about an appointment slipping an individual's mind and asking if the other person can wait for one more hour.

The research team discovered that the mediator robot could lessen negative emotions. Professor Tanaka explained that OMOY could transmit a frustrating message and provide its own opinion.

When his speech came along with the proper weight lifts, they discovered that the user would recognize the "intention" of the robot to help him calm down.

Essentially, the body expression of the robot generated by weight shifts did not necessitate any specific external components like legs or arms, which implied that the internal weight movements could lessen the anger of a user or other negative emotions minus the use of facial expressions or rich body gestures.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

The key finding of the study published in Frontiers in Robotics and AI is that the information revealed by users is reliant on the behaviors of the mediator robot that's locally interacting with them.

More so, recently, it conceptualized artificial intelligence- or AI-mediated communication or AI-MC, as a modern extension of computer-mediated communication or CMC and envisioned it as a probable future communication tactic for humans.

This has been defined in the study as "interpersonal communication," in which an AI operates on behalf of a communicator by altering, enhancing, or producing messages to attain communication goals.

Information about the OMOY robot is shown on Fumihide Tanaka Laboratory's YouTube video below:

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