Effects of gentle and rude vitality forms in social robots on humans during cognitive multitasking
Designing a social humanoid robot to enhance human cognitive multitasking in a mixed human-robot team is anything but straightforward. In fact, the robot’s presence and behavior can either improve or impair human performance. In this study, we examined how different vitality forms—expressed through...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Robotics and AI |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frobt.2025.1305685/full |
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| author | Motonobu Aoki Motonobu Aoki Motonobu Aoki Francesco Rea Francesco Rea Giuseppe Di Cesare Giulio Sandini Takura Yanagi Atsushi Takamatsu Tomohiro Yamamura |
| author_facet | Motonobu Aoki Motonobu Aoki Motonobu Aoki Francesco Rea Francesco Rea Giuseppe Di Cesare Giulio Sandini Takura Yanagi Atsushi Takamatsu Tomohiro Yamamura |
| author_sort | Motonobu Aoki |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Designing a social humanoid robot to enhance human cognitive multitasking in a mixed human-robot team is anything but straightforward. In fact, the robot’s presence and behavior can either improve or impair human performance. In this study, we examined how different vitality forms—expressed through the robot’s actions, speech and facial expressions—affect cognitive multitasking. Analysis of human facial expressions and skin conductance data revealed that a robot exhibiting a gentle vitality form fostered a more positive and relaxed state than one displaying a rude vitality form. Moreover, the gentle vitality form improved human performance on tasks involving short-term memory and continuous target tracking. To our knowledge, this is the first study to explore the long-term impact of vitality forms. Overall, our findings suggest that properly designing a social humanoid robot’s vitality forms can significantly enhance cognitive multitasking performance in human-robot teams. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b729780e668d4576a7e5551cb43a5477 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2296-9144 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Robotics and AI |
| spelling | doaj-art-b729780e668d4576a7e5551cb43a54772025-08-20T02:18:39ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Robotics and AI2296-91442025-04-011210.3389/frobt.2025.13056851305685Effects of gentle and rude vitality forms in social robots on humans during cognitive multitaskingMotonobu Aoki0Motonobu Aoki1Motonobu Aoki2Francesco Rea3Francesco Rea4Giuseppe Di Cesare5Giulio Sandini6Takura Yanagi7Atsushi Takamatsu8Tomohiro Yamamura9Mobility and AI Laboratory, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Atsugi, Kanagawa, JapanDepartment of Robotics Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Italian Institute of Technology, Genoa, Liguria, ItalyDepartment of Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics and Systems Engineering, The University of Genoa, Genoa, Liguria, ItalyDepartment of Robotics Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Italian Institute of Technology, Genoa, Liguria, ItalyDepartment of Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics and Systems Engineering, The University of Genoa, Genoa, Liguria, ItalyDepartment of Medicine and Surgery, The University of Parma, Parma, Emilia–Romagna, ItalyDepartment of Robotics Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Italian Institute of Technology, Genoa, Liguria, ItalyMobility and AI Laboratory, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Atsugi, Kanagawa, JapanMobility and AI Laboratory, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Atsugi, Kanagawa, JapanResearch Planning Department, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Atsugi, Kanagawa, JapanDesigning a social humanoid robot to enhance human cognitive multitasking in a mixed human-robot team is anything but straightforward. In fact, the robot’s presence and behavior can either improve or impair human performance. In this study, we examined how different vitality forms—expressed through the robot’s actions, speech and facial expressions—affect cognitive multitasking. Analysis of human facial expressions and skin conductance data revealed that a robot exhibiting a gentle vitality form fostered a more positive and relaxed state than one displaying a rude vitality form. Moreover, the gentle vitality form improved human performance on tasks involving short-term memory and continuous target tracking. To our knowledge, this is the first study to explore the long-term impact of vitality forms. Overall, our findings suggest that properly designing a social humanoid robot’s vitality forms can significantly enhance cognitive multitasking performance in human-robot teams.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frobt.2025.1305685/fullhuman-robot interactionsocial robotsvitality formscognitive multitaskingfacial expressionsmental workload |
| spellingShingle | Motonobu Aoki Motonobu Aoki Motonobu Aoki Francesco Rea Francesco Rea Giuseppe Di Cesare Giulio Sandini Takura Yanagi Atsushi Takamatsu Tomohiro Yamamura Effects of gentle and rude vitality forms in social robots on humans during cognitive multitasking Frontiers in Robotics and AI human-robot interaction social robots vitality forms cognitive multitasking facial expressions mental workload |
| title | Effects of gentle and rude vitality forms in social robots on humans during cognitive multitasking |
| title_full | Effects of gentle and rude vitality forms in social robots on humans during cognitive multitasking |
| title_fullStr | Effects of gentle and rude vitality forms in social robots on humans during cognitive multitasking |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of gentle and rude vitality forms in social robots on humans during cognitive multitasking |
| title_short | Effects of gentle and rude vitality forms in social robots on humans during cognitive multitasking |
| title_sort | effects of gentle and rude vitality forms in social robots on humans during cognitive multitasking |
| topic | human-robot interaction social robots vitality forms cognitive multitasking facial expressions mental workload |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frobt.2025.1305685/full |
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