Psychophysiological effects by interaction with mental commit robot

Abstract

We have been working on research and development of a mental commit robot which aims to provide humans mental effects such as enjoyment and relaxation. In previous research, we have performed subjective evaluation of a mental commit robot by some interview forms. The results showed physical interaction improved subjective evaluations. Moreover, a priori knowledge of a subject had influence on subjective interpretation and evaluation. In this paper, we applied physiological measurements to investigate influence on a human of physical interaction with the mental commit robot. As physiological measurements, we applied the electrocardiogram, respiration rate and the electrodermal response. We measured mood state by the profile of mood states. The finding of an experiment showed changes in activities of the autonomic nervous system. In addition it was shown that there were some differences under mood states caused by contact with a texture.