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Human-Robot Interaction, Wellbeing, and Stress Management

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Psychology of Sustainability and Sustainable Development".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 December 2021) | Viewed by 23227

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. João Silva Sequeira

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Guest Editor

Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon University, 1649-004 Lisboa, Portugal
Interests: social robotics; human-robot interaction; architectural aspects of robotics, including robot modelling and control; networked and cooperative robotics; systems integration
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

To mitigate the unpredecedent challenges of post-techological futures, human-robot interaction has become a recent focus in the field of the psychology of sustainability and sustainable development. Inheriting from human-machine/computer interaction, human-robot interaction can contribute to well-being, once fully understood. Specifically, this Special Issue encompasses a selection of papers covering the way social robots are becoming ubiquitous in our social space and how that leads to the emergence of new forms of social friction. Even though there is still a long road to travel to full autonomy, as societies learn how to behave with robots and how to use them it is only natural that stress emerges, and rejection may even overcome any novelty effects. This may be the case, for example, of robots used in healthcare, a particularly sensitive area, where stressful situations are, in general, to be avoided. The sustainability of the entanglement between humans and robots depends on our ability to question the dynamics of robotic technologies and people, i.e., understanding human-robot interaction. This selection aims at setting a ground for future reflections on these topics.

Dr. João Silva Sequeira
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Social Robotics
Robotics and Automation
Wellbeing
Stress Management
Human-Robot Interaction
Robot interfaces
Usability
Human-Robot Mixed Societies

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 253 KiB

Open AccessArticle

EnviRobots: How Human–Robot Interaction Can Facilitate Sustainable Behavior

by Clara Scheutz, Theresa Law and Matthias Scheutz

Sustainability 2021, 13(21), 12283; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132112283 - 7 Nov 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2272

Abstract

Environmental psychology aims to study human behavior with regard to the environment and how psychological techniques can be used to motivate behavior change. We argue that these concepts can be applied to interactive robots designed for other tasks, which then enables them to encourage sustainability behaviors in humans. We first present a literature review on the current state of social robots that are used to encourage sustainable behaviors. We next present eight hypothetical scenarios which are informed by the progress that has already been made in social robots in sustainability, as well as notable gaps where further environmental psychological concepts could be utilized. These scenarios encompass possible robots that range from limited sensing and no manipulation capabilities, to more sophisticated sensing and no manipulation, to sophisticated sensing and manipulation capabilities. We present these scenarios in which human–robot interaction could potentially result in pro-environmental behavioral changes in humans as recommendations for robot designers interested in helping design social robots for sustainability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human-Robot Interaction, Wellbeing, and Stress Management)

17 pages, 3266 KiB

Open AccessArticle

PARO as a Biofeedback Medical Device for Mental Health in the COVID-19 Era

by Takanori Shibata, Lillian Hung, Sandra Petersen, Kate Darling, Kaoru Inoue, Katharine Martyn, Yoko Hori, Geoffrey Lane, Davis Park, Ruth Mizoguchi, Chihiro Takano, Sarah Harper, George W. Leeson and Joseph F. Coughlin

Sustainability 2021, 13(20), 11502; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132011502 - 18 Oct 2021

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 9934

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic is spreading across the globe, and it could take years for society to fully recover. Personal protective equipment (PPE), various hygiene measures, and social distancing have been implemented to reduce “human to human” contact, which is an essential part of outbreak prevention. The pressure of the pandemic combined with decreased communication and social contact have taken a toll on the mental health of many individuals, especially with respect to anxiety and depression. Effective use of robots and technology as a substitute for—or in coordination with—traditional medicine could play a valuable role in reducing psychological distress now more than ever. This paper summarizes the results of a comprehensive review of clinical research on PARO, a therapeutic seal robot, which has been used extensively as a biofeedback medical device and socially assistive robot in the field of mental health. PARO has proven to be an effective and economical non-pharmacological intervention method for both mental and physical well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilization of PARO during these times has provided more data for consideration and has helped in mitigating the negative stigma surrounding using robots in therapeutic settings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human-Robot Interaction, Wellbeing, and Stress Management)

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26 pages, 7519 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sustainable Human–Robot Collaboration Based on Human Intention Classification

by Chiuhsiang Joe Lin and Rio Prasetyo Lukodono

Sustainability 2021, 13(11), 5990; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13115990 - 26 May 2021

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3931

Abstract

Sustainable manufacturing plays a role in ensuring products’ economic characteristics and reducing energy and resource consumption by improving the well-being of human workers and communities and maintaining safety. Using robots is one way for manufacturers to increase their sustainable manufacturing practices. Nevertheless, there are limitations to directly replacing humans with robots due to work characteristics and practical conditions. Collaboration between robots and humans should accommodate human capabilities while reducing loads and ineffective human motions to prevent human fatigue and maximize overall performance. Moreover, there is a need to establish early and fast communication between humans and machines in human–robot collaboration to know the status of the human in the activity and make immediate adjustments for maximum performance. This study used a deep learning algorithm to classify muscular signals of human motions with accuracy of 88%. It indicates that the signal could be used as information for the robot to determine the human motion’s intention during the initial stage of the entire motion. This approach can increase not only the communication and efficiency of human–robot collaboration but also reduce human fatigue by the early detection of human motion patterns. To enhance human well-being, it is suggested that a human–robot collaboration assembly line adopt similar technologies for a sustainable human–robot collaboration workplace. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human-Robot Interaction, Wellbeing, and Stress Management)

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11 pages, 255 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

The Effects of the Big Five Personality Traits on Stress among Robot Programming Students

by Anita Pollak, Małgorzata Dobrowolska, Anna Timofiejczuk and Mateusz Paliga

Sustainability 2020, 12(12), 5196; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12125196 - 25 Jun 2020

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 5360

Abstract

This paper presents relationships between personality traits and stress levels in light of the transactional model of stress. The framework of the transactional model was applied to determine the significance of work with a robot for primary and secondary stress appraisal made by an individual. We decided to use the Big Five personality traits model as one which integrates the dimensions of personality and had been previously applied to research on stress. The participants in our three-wave study were 105 students doing an industrial robots programming course. Using Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) and Questionnaire for Primary and Secondary Appraisal (PASA) questionnaires, we gathered information about the students’ personality, the level of anticipated stress, and the stress experienced while working with a robot after 6 and 12 weeks. The obtained results prove that emotional stability is significant for secondary appraisal of anticipated stress. The results also show that openness to experience is a negative predictor, whereas conscientiousness is a positive predictor of primary stress appraisal. The ability to cope with stress after 12 weeks of work with a robot is appraised as higher by older, more conscientious, and introverted people. The obtained results are discussed from the psychological perspective of stress and personality, which complements earlier studies in technical sciences. The limitations of the study are also indicated. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human-Robot Interaction, Wellbeing, and Stress Management)

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