What is it about?
We designed social robots that can act as expert wellness coaches or peer-like friends to improve people's wellbeing. These robots were sent to seventy people's homes during the COVID-19 pandemic to see how effective they are in improving people's psychological wellbeing. We found that the robot that acts like a friend was the best at enhancing their mental health and building close relationships with people
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Photo by Alex Knight on Unsplash
Why is it important?
Our findings suggest that AI agents that act like a friend can help people improve their mental health better than agents that try to teach people. The robot's friend-like attitude and behavior can also make people feel closer to the robot, which can further enhance the effectiveness of the long-term mental health support it provides.
Perspectives
Deploying robots into people's homes was challenging, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it was very meaningful and rewarding to see that the robots we designed made a positive impact on people's mental health and provided meaningful companionship during such difficult times.
Sooyeon Jeong
Northwestern University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: A Robotic Companion for Psychological Well-being, March 2023, ACM (Association for Computing Machinery),
DOI: 10.1145/3568162.3578625.
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