Socially Assistive Robotics for Anxiety Reduction

Prior work in HRI for domains such as exercise, rehabilitation, and autism has shown how socially assistive robots (SARs) can successfully support behavioral practices. Applying these insights to mental health is an opportunity to support a large and growing population that is actively struggling. My research investigates utilizing SARs for supporting the therapeutic behavior of deep breathing for anxiety reduction. My prior work to date has focused on the design affordances required for an anxious population through the development of a new, haptically-based robot, Ommie. Future work explores how SARs for anxiety-reducing behaviors can maximize long-term, in-the-wild use through haptic interactions, perception technologies, and personalized motivational mechanisms.