Ran Zhou

About

“Pat Me” is a speculative installation, which is a head-mounted robot, as an artistic response to "cure my loneliness" while studying abroad and away from home. In many Asian countries, we use the “patting head” gesture to show our concern for family and friends. We are willing to be patted by people we trust. 

During my user research, I found out that there are some people who don’t like being patted on the head:

• Some of them consider it rude due to their culture.

• Some people think they are infantilized or condescended to when others pat them on the head.

• Some people reject physical touch.

Prototyping

So I designed the robot that enables the mutual-pat-head interaction with a two-part construction, controlled by Arduino.

• a headset machine — “hand” of the robot: pat human’s head

• a device on the shoulder — “head” of the robot: being patted & control center

To create an equal relationship between user and robot, you need to pat the robot’s head on the shoulder first; then, it will pat you back. Also, the robot will not pat you when it feels “sad;” you need to “delight” it by patting it.

Mechanism

Mode

The robot’s hand is made with two servo motors and one stepper motor, which enables the robot to have different kinds of touch. Currently, it has three modes: patting, rubbing, and stroking. The modes show an increasing stage of intimacy through touch achieved by programming different functions to the motors on rotation angle and speed.

To Pat or Not to Pat

“Pat Me” is an emotional robot, and I want it to have its own personality. It is designed to comfort me when I feel lonely so I created a robot who is also afraid of loneliness. I use a timing and scoring mechanism to decide its behavior. I also use a 6x6 LED board to mimic its eyes. Its eyes are in pink color when it is happy. If you leave it alone for too long, it will turn colder.

Pat by Others

“Pat Me” Robot helps lonely people learn how to get along with themselves. It can also provide opportunities for the user to communicate with others. When the user takes the headset and shoulder device in a public space, he will show other people that he feels lonely and he needs comfort. Other people are able to pat the “head” of the robot, which is also in the gesture that patting the user’s shoulder. So they can show their concern through the robot, and the opportunity of communication between people will be increased.

Demos for Modes

Exhibition

2019.09.26 NYCML '19 NYC MediaLab Demo Expo, CUNY, Brooklyn, New York

At the NYC Media Lab Demo Expo in September 2019, I was surprised to see how "Pat Me" was comforting to diverse audiences despite cultural differences in the meaning of head patting. Some, who would normally perceive head touching as condescending, expressed delight and contentment with "Pat Me," they even started patting their friend's head after trying my robot. This experience raised my curiosity about the potential of simple robotic touch in conveying nuanced information and evoking profound emotional responses. 

"I have never imagined a simple touch can be that powerful!"

Professor: Fei Liu

2018. 12