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In recent years, virtual idols have garnered considerable attention because they can perform activities similar to real idols. However, as they are fictitious idols with nonphysical presence, they cannot perform physical interactions such as handshake. Combining a robotic hand with a display showing virtual idols is the one of the methods to solve this problem. Nonetheless a physical handshake is possible, the form of handshake that can effectively induce the desirable behavior is unclear. In this study, we adopted a robotic hand as an interface and aimed to imitate the behavior of real idols. To test the effects of this behavior, we conducted step-wise experiments. The series of experiments revealed that the handshake by the robotic hand increased the feeling of intimacy toward the virtual idol, and it became more enjoyable to respond to a request from the virtual idol. In addition, viewing the virtual idols during the handshake increased the feeling of intimacy with the virtual idol. Moreover, the method of the hand-shake peculiar to idols, which tried to keep holding the user’s hand after the conversation, increased the feeling of intimacy to the virtual idol.

The handshake is the most acceptable gesture of greeting in many cultures throughout many centuries. To date, robotic arms are not capable of fully replicating this typical human gesture. Using multiple sensors that detect contact forces and displacements, we characterized the movements that occured during handshakes. A typical human-to-human handshake took around 3.63 s (SD = 0.45 s) to perform. It can be divided into three phases: reaching (M = 0.92 s, SD = 0.45 s), contact (M = 1.96 s, SD = 0.46 s), and return (M = 0.75 s, SD = 0.12 s). The handshake was further investigated to understand its subtle movements. Using a multiphase jerk minimization model, a smooth human-to-human handshake can be modelled with fifth or fourth degree polynomials at the reaching and return phases, and a sinusoidal function with exponential decay at the contact phase. We show that the contact phase (1.96 s) can be further divided according to the following subphases: preshake (0.06 s), main shake (1.31 s), postshake (0.06 s), and a period of no movement (0.52 s) just before both hands are retracted. We compared these to the existing handshake models that were proposed for physical human-robot interaction (pHRI). From our findings in human-to-human handshakes, we proposed guidelines for a more natural handshake movement between humanoid robots and their human partners.

In recent years, virtual idols have garnered considerable attention because they can perform activities similar to real idols. However, as they are fictitious idols with nonphysical presence, they cannot perform physical interactions such as handshake. Combining a robotic hand with a display showing virtual idols is the one of the methods to solve this problem. Nonetheless a physical handshake is possible, the form of handshake that can effectively induce the desirable behavior is unclear. In this study, we adopted a robotic hand as an interface and aimed to imitate the behavior of real idols. To test the effects of this behavior, we conducted step-wise experiments. The series of experiments revealed that the handshake by the robotic hand increased the feeling of intimacy toward the virtual idol, and it became more enjoyable to respond to a request from the virtual idol. In addition, viewing the virtual idols during the handshake increased the feeling of intimacy with the virtual idol. Moreover, the method of the hand-shake peculiar to idols, which tried to keep holding the user's hand after the conversation, increased the feeling of intimacy to the virtual idol., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Onishi, Ogawa, Tanaka and Nakanishi.)

The handshake is the most acceptable gesture of greeting in many cultures throughout many centuries. To date, robotic arms are not capable of fully replicating this typical human gesture. Using multiple sensors that detect contact forces and displacements, we characterized the movements that occured during handshakes. A typical human-to-human handshake took around 3.63 s (SD = 0.45 s) to perform. It can be divided into three phases: reaching (M = 0.92 s, SD = 0.45 s), contact (M = 1.96 s, SD = 0.46 s), and return (M = 0.75 s, SD = 0.12 s). The handshake was further investigated to understand its subtle movements. Using a multiphase jerk minimization model, a smooth human-to-human handshake can be modelled with fifth or fourth degree polynomials at the reaching and return phases, and a sinusoidal function with exponential decay at the contact phase. We show that the contact phase (1.96 s) can be further divided according to the following subphases: preshake (0.06 s), main shake (1.31 s), postshake (0.06 s), and a period of no movement (0.52 s) just before both hands are retracted. We compared these to the existing handshake models that were proposed for physical human-robot interaction (pHRI). From our findings in human-to-human handshakes, we proposed guidelines for a more natural handshake movement between humanoid robots and their human partners., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Cabibihan, El-Noamany, Ragab and Ang.)