Not easy to build robots capable of hugging. Apart from their tough composition and mechanical arms, robots have difficulty replicating these kinds of human interactions.
After the experience of the last two years of confinements and quarantines, we no longer underestimate the importance of physical contact for our well-being.
Eleven rules to follow
Members of the Max Planck Institute in Stuttgart, Germany, have published eleven rules to follow when building cuddling robots, after studying in detail the elements of the optimal hug. Here are some rules: the robots must be soft, warm, on a human scale. They will have to respect the consent of humans, adapt to their bodies, and detect when the human wants to move away. Each hug should be unique. The robot will have to understand the movements of the human it is cuddling and adapt quickly.
Hugs are the product of intuition, emotion, and social context. Robots struggle to read implicit cues that invite hugging. It is therefore difficult for them to learn to hug a human at the appropriate time. However, thanks to the eleven rules mentioned above, the HuggieBot 3.0 robot is now capable of it.
HuggieBot 3.0 hugs you
HuggieBot 3.0 is on a human scale and perfectly autonomous. Her arms and body are covered with air cushions and foam to make the cuddling experience smoother and more enjoyable. The robot detects the human presence and opens its arms to offer you a hug.
On average, HuggieBot keeps you in his arms for 25 seconds. It is estimated that the benefits of a hug appear after 20 seconds of continuous contact. However, most hugs shared between humans only last 2-3 seconds.
Source: IEEE Spectrum
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