Contact interaction robot-communication between robot and human through contact behavior

This paper proposes a contact interaction robot (CIR) which utilizes contact behavior as the interaction means between a human and a robot. The CIR is a puppet robot designed so that the robot and the human touch each other. The psychological experiments are performed by utilizing a CIR equipped with pressure sensors on both sides of its neck and six servo motors in its neck, two arms and, two legs. The experimental results reveal that the CIR is able to moderate the painfulness perceived by the human as well as to bring a sense of relief.