Robotics and Autonomous Systems 42 (2003) 191–201 An ethological and emotional basis for human–robot interaction Ronald C. Arkin a,* , Masahiro Fujita b , Tsuyoshi Takagi b , Rika Hasegawa b a College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0280, USA b Sony Digital Creatures Laboratory, Kitashinagawa, Tokyo, Japan Abstract This paper presents the role of ethological and emotional models as the basis for an architecture in support of entertainment robotic systems. Specific examples for Sony’s AIBO are presented as well as extensions related to a new humanoid robot, SDR. © 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Robot architecture; Entertainment robot; Emotion; Ethology 1. Introduction Human–robot interaction is of critical importance in the entertainment robotics sector. In order to pro- duce a desirable end product that can be enjoyed over extended periods of time, it is essential that an under- standing of not only robotics but also human psychol- ogy be brought to bear. In this paper we describe two aspects of a software architecture that addresses sev- eral of the fundamental needs posed by this domain: 1. Incorporation of high-fidelity ethological models of behavior as a basis for providing the ability for people to relate in predictable ways to a robotic artifact. 2. Generation of motivational behavior (e.g., emo- tions) that supports human conceptions of living creatures, and thus encourages a natural bonding between the human and the robotic artifact. Fig. 1 shows the range of products that Sony cur- rently produces for the entertainment robotic sector. They include various versions of dog-like robots (AI- * Corresponding author. Tel.: +1-404-894-8209; fax: +1-404-894-0957. E-mail address: ron.arkin@cc.gatech.edu (R.C. Arkin). BOs) and the newer humanoid robot (SDR). Fortu- nately the entertainment robotics domain is highly tol- erant of outside-the-norm behavior and performance as it does not require high precision nor repeatability as required for more standard robotic applications [1]. Ethology refers to the study of animals in their nat- ural setting and was largely founded in the early 1900s by Lorenz [2] and Tinbergen [3]. Our work seeks to extract from observational behavior (not neuroscien- tific models) suitable descriptions of animal activity that can be effectively mapped onto robotic systems to provide the appearance of life-like activity. Studies of the manifestation of emotions in humans and their similar occurrence as motivational behavior in animals can also provide support for effective in- teractivity between a robot and a human [4,5,19]. By incorporating aspects of emotional and instinctive be- havior into a robotic architecture we contend that a greater ability to relate to the end-user is provided. 2. Ethological basis The study of canine behavior has provided fertile ground for the creation of a novel architecture for AIBO. In particular, the extensive body of research 0921-8890/03/$ – see front matter © 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S0921-8890(02)00375-5