Inspired by an animal behavior called bunting, in which the animal rubs its head against other objects, including humans, we developed robotic prototypes capable of performing such bunting behaviors. Since physical contact plays an important role in therapeutic interactions between pets and their owners, we hypothesize that robot bunting can have a similar effect on its user. This article reports on the development of such a robot with a flexible neck that can change its stiffness while the robot is rubbing its head against the user. An exploratory study was also conducted with 22 human participants, on whom the developed robot performed head bunting with three different (low/high/variable) stiffness conditions. The results show that the participants’ psychological tension, as measured by the temporary mood scale (TMS), was significantly reduced (p \(\lt\) 0.001) after interacting with the robot. The difference between the three stiffness conditions was not significant in this study. Due to the lack of a control condition, we cannot confirm a clear effect of the stiffness change; however, some participants commented that the stiffness change made the robot's behavior lifelike and relaxing.

Robotic pets are expected to be a new approach to provide people with healing. To realize an active touch from a robotic pet, we focus on the “snuggling behavior” in which an animal pet rubs its head or body, and propose a robotic pet that incorporates this behavior. In this paper, we introduce the outline of the developed prototype, and describe the application scenario of the snugglina robot in the future.

Interacting with animals can relieve human anxiety and stress. In this research, we particularly look at the “snuggling behaviors” (ex. cats rub their body against a wall) of such animals. We will implement snuggling behaviors inspired by cats into a robot and investigate if such behaviors are effective in reducing human anxiety. In this paper, we will report our initial attempt and early results.