RCBB Research Talk - Martina Giancane (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa)

Engineering emotional touch: Decoding emotional tactile communication in human-robot interaction

In this RCBB Research Talk Martina Giancane (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa) will present her current research under the title "Engineering emotional touch: Decoding emotional tactile communication in human-robot interaction". 

Abstract

Touch is one of the most immediate and embodied ways through which humans communicate emotions, intentions, and social meaning. A comforting hand on the shoulder, a caress, a firm tap, or even the deliberate absence of touch can convey affective information that is difficult to express through words alone. Although robots are increasingly expected to interact with humans in natural, supportive, and emotionally intelligent ways, tactile communication remains one of the least explored dimensions of human-robot interaction (HRI).

This seminar will explore what it means to “engineer emotional touch” for future robotic systems. Starting from the role of affective and social touch in human communication, we will explore how emotional meaning can be expressed through tactile behaviour and how such behaviour can be captured by artificial tactile technologies to enrich HRI. The seminar will discuss how humans use different tactile strategies to communicate emotions, why some emotions appear to be more consistently conveyed through touch than others, and how bio-inspired tactile sensing can support the decoding of emotional tactile patterns. Attention will be given to the role of robot embodiment, anthropomorphism, and the attribution of sensory capacity in shaping how people interact physically and emotionally with robotic systems.

Beyond the technical challenge of emotion recognition, the talk will also address broader implications for social, assistive, and healthcare robotics. Emotional touch will be framed not as passive emotion detection, but as a voluntary and embodied form of communication: a way for humans to actively express affective meaning to robots through interaction. This perspective opens new possibilities for designing robotic systems that are not simply more human-like in appearance, but more responsive to the embodied ways in which humans communicate.

Introduction by Dr Paula Trotter.

If you have any queries, please contact Paula Trotter, Emma Ashworth, or Michael Richter.