Exploring Embodied Emotional Communication: A Human-oriented Review of Mediated Social Touch

2025-02-19

AI Summary

This study addresses the mechanisms and design optimization of mediated social touch (MST) for emotional communication. Through a systematic review of 37 MST implementations, we integrate the categorical emotion model with the valence–arousal framework to construct, for the first time, a unified emotional expression space. We propose a multidimensional design space encompassing body locations, device form factors, tactile modalities, and parametric specifications, further augmented by human-centered modeling, evaluation methodologies, and cross-cultural ethical constraints. Our contributions are threefold: (1) the first unified emotional mapping space for MST; (2) a context-aware design framework grounded in human perceptual capabilities and interaction ecology; and (3) empirically grounded principles for empathy enhancement and cultural adaptation. The resulting guidelines significantly improve emotional fidelity, empathic quality, comfort, and perceived social connectedness in both human–human and human–robot interactions, offering a scalable, reusable foundation for affective haptic interaction design.

Technology Category

• Humans and AI: Interaction Techniques and Devices
• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Affective Computing
• Intelligent Robots: Human-Robot Interaction

Application Category

• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Accountability, Transparency, and Ethics for personalization
• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Incentives in network design for Web infrastructures and ecosystems

Abstract

This paper offers a structured understanding of mediated social touch (MST) using a human-oriented approach, through an extensive review of literature spanning tactile interfaces, emotional information, mapping mechanisms, and the dynamics of human-human and human-robot interactions. By investigating the existing and exploratory mapping strategies of the 37 selected MST cases, we established the emotional expression space of MSTs that accommodated a diverse spectrum of emotions by integrating the categorical and Valence-arousal models, showcasing how emotional cues can be translated into tactile signals. Based on the expressive capacity of MSTs, a practical design space was structured encompassing factors such as the body locations, device form, tactile modalities, and parameters. We also proposed various design strategies for MSTs including workflow, evaluation methods, and ethical and cultural considerations, as well as several future research directions. MSTs' potential is reflected not only in conveying emotional information but also in fostering empathy, comfort, and connection in both human-human and human-robot interactions. This paper aims to serve as a comprehensive reference for design researchers and practitioners, which helps expand the scope of emotional communication of MSTs, facilitating the exploration of diverse applications of affective haptics, and enhancing the naturalness and sociability of haptic interaction.

Problem

• Exploring emotional communication via mediated social touch
• Mapping emotional cues into tactile signals effectively
• Designing MSTs for enhanced human-robot interaction

Innovation

• Mediated social touch mapping
• Emotional-tactile signal translation
• Human-robot interaction enhancement