TOWARDS EMOTIONAL ROBOTS THAT IMPROVE MENTAL WELL BEING OF PATIENTS

摘要

Increasing evidence supports that negative emotions lead to poorer health and other psychological problems. In contrast, positive emotions improve mental states, promote health and counteract negative emotions. Hence it is desirable for patients to maintain positive emotional states to maximise their recovery process. Emotional robots are recent development that enables robots to communicate affect and socialise with human. The ability to communicate emotions makes it possible for Emotional robots to be applied as an alternative approach for patient care. This paper proposes a framework for Emotional robots in improving the mental well being of hospital patients.