Expression of emotions by a service robot: A pilot study

Abstract

A successful Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) depends on the empathy that the robot has the capability of instantiating on the user, namely through the expression of emotions. In this pilot study, we examined the recognition of emotions being expressed by a service robot in a virtual environment (VE), by university students. The VE was a corridor, neutral in terms of context of use. The robot’s facial expressions, body movements, and displacement were manipulated to express eight basic emotions. Results showed that participants had difficulties in recognizing the emotions (33% of success). Also, results suggested that the participants established empathy with the robot. Further work is needed to improve the emotional expression of this robot, which aims to interact with hospitalized children.