An overview of human interactive robots for psychological enrichment

The market for industrial robots grew rapidly during the 1970s and 1980s, with a peak demand in 1991. However, due to the subsequent recession in the world economy, the market for industrial robots has been slow or stagnant over the last decade. The value of industrial robots has decreased in that term, even though they have undergone considerable technical advances. On the other hand, human interactive robots for psychological enrichment are a type of service robots that provide a service by interacting with humans while stimulating their minds. As opposed to industrial robots, accuracy or speed is not always of prime importance. Their function or purpose is not simply entertainment, but also to render assistance, to guide, to provide therapy, to educate, to enable communication, and so on. The market for human interactive robots designed for psychological enrichment is expected to grow rapidly and to become more widespread. This overview explains human-robot interactions in terms of the relationship between humans and robots, in terms of the duration of these interactions and in terms of design issues affecting human interactive robots for psychological enrichment. Then examples of cross-cultural differences in the subjective evaluation of human interactive robots are described.