Can you learn anything from Robot Hug study?

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Sometimes I learn more about humans when I study robots.

https://spectrum.ieee.org/robot-hugs

Here are all 11 the commandments that HuggieBot 3.0 follows:

1 A hugging robot shall be soft.
2 A hugging robot shall be warm.
3 A hugging robot shall be sized similar to an adult human.
4 When a hugging robot is the one initiating the interaction, it shall autonomously invite the user for a hug when it detects someone in its personal space. A hugging robot should wait for the user to begin walking toward it before closing its arms to ensure a consensual and synchronous hugging experience.
5 A hugging robot shall autonomously adapt its embrace to the size and position of the user’s body, rather than hug in a constant manner
6 A hugging robot shall reliably detect and react to a user’s desire to be released from a hug regardless of his or her arm positions.
7 A good hugging robot shall perceive the user’s height and adapt its arm positions accordingly to comfortably fit around the user at appropriate body locations.
8 It is advantageous for a hugging robot to accurately detect and classify gestures applied to its torso in real time, regardless of the user’s hand placement.
9 Users like a robot that responds quickly to their intrahug gestures.
10 To avoid appearing too robotic and to help conceal inevitable errors in gesture perception, a hugging robot shall not attempt perfect reciprocation of intrahug gestures. Rather, the robot should adopt a gesture response paradigm that blends user preferences with slight variety and spontaneity.
11 To evoke user feelings that the robot is alive and caring, a hugging robot shall occasionally provide unprompted, proactive affective social touch to the user through intrahug gestures.

These "commandments" are actually pretty helpful for understanding what people expect during hugs. Thank you for linking them.

I would never hug a robot, but as a masseur, I know that the key to a good hug is in the hands. You should hold the other person as if they were a baby, except for the position, which has to adjust for size.

I hate robots, like I hate dolls and clowns. They're so creepy.

I prefer to just hug a human or an animal.

Other parts of the article I found interesting:

"Part of making hugs enjoyable for humans involves the use of intrahug gestures, the development and test of which is one of the major contributions of the new paper. Intrahug gestures are the things you do with your arms and hands midhug, and while you may not always be consciously aware that you’re doing them, they could include things like gentle rubbing, pats, or squeezes."

"In our validation study with HuggieBot 3.0, the average user hug duration was about 25 seconds long. For comparison, the average hug between humans is 2 to 3 seconds. To receive the positive benefits of deep pressure touch, researchers have found 20 seconds of constant hugging between romantic partners is necessary, and our users, on average, hugged our robot for even longer. We made it clear to our users that they were free to hug the robot for as long or as short a duration as they liked. Compare hugging a stranger or acquaintance (2 to 3 seconds) to hugging a partner, a friend, or a family member (20 seconds). "

No..thanks...I like hugs and everything... But freakin robots??

^ i get you but - even if you don't like robots - the people trying to build one seem to be doing a good job of find the "un-written rules" or hugs. And someone who can help me understand the "un-written rules" can help me to do better with them too.

Related:

https://thesensorytoolbox.com/temple-gr ... e-machine/

Temple Grandin is a hero in the autism world. Her research, advocacy, and influence have shaped how we treat and talk about autism and sensory issues. Sometimes forgotten though is the incredible impact of her inventions. Temple Grandin’s Squeeze Machine or, Hug Machine, played a huge role in defining what we know about the benefits of deep pressure and compression for people with autismand sensory issues.

In this post, we’ll talk about why Temple Grandin’s Squeeze Machine made such an impact and how you can apply its science in your own child’s routine.
When Did Grandin Invent the Squeeze Machine? And, Why?

From an early age, Temple Grandin struggled with sensory sensitivity. Like a lot of our kiddos with autism, Grandin struggled with being touched. She had 9 out of the 15 symptoms on the Ayres Checklist for Tactile Defensiveness.

Grandin’s interests drove her towards animal science, with a specific specialty in livestock.

In her work, she noticed that animals relaxed when they experienced deep touch pressure.

If the animal chutes were used properly, they could apply deep touch pressure to animals prior to going to slaughter, calming them down in what is otherwise a very stressful moment.

This gave Grandin an idea.

If you ever try for an official aspergers diagnosis you might wanna show the doctors this thread.

Anyone who needs a robot to teach him how to give hugs ...should just go straight to the diagnosis express line! No need for the battery of tests. Automatically certified aspie! Mental health professionals should just give you the official seal right now!

no thank you. If a robot of any sort approached me with open arms I would run screaming. I find robots about as creepy as puppets, uncanny valley sensitivities are very strong for me. NO way would I, I hate automated phone calls and answerers, I hate interacting with automated bank machines, I do rely on the computer for printed communications but I would never want to get a hug from one.

Sensory diet related terms, maybe.
I'd rather stick to squishing pillows or make a burrito out of myself with a quilt blanket -- it's more accessible.


Emotional related terms? Unsure.

I've heard/watch somewhere about weird experiments about baby monkeys and varying robot like idols for surrogate mothers.
Where warm and soft idols assures the baby monkey, while the cold and hard one doesn't -- not the whole detail though, it affects it's development; namely emotional or stress regulation.
How it is applied to humans, I do not know.

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