Comprehension of users' subjective interaction states during their interaction with an artificial agent by means of heart rate variability index

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether users' subjective interaction states which indicate whether they feel comfortable interacting with artificial agents can be comprehended by means of biological index. As a biological index, we focused on the heart rate variability and used an RSA ratio for the time period when the respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) value is higher than the Mayer wave sinus arrhythmia (MWSA) value divided by the total interaction period. To clarify the effectiveness of this RSA ratio, we conducted two experiments to measure this index among participants who played a simple cooperation game with an artificial agent, which either responded as the participant desired or responded randomly. The results showed that the RSA ratio determined the subjective interaction state which indicated whether they felt comfortable or uncomfortable with their interactions with the agents. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2007.