Could therapy robots replace therapy animals?

Researchers may have found a way to turn robots into the equivalent of therapy animals, helping people to deal with their emotions.

One such example is a therapy horse that reacts to human emotions. Therapy horses are even used for Equine-assisted interventions (EAIs), where the animals are used to help people with PTSD, autism, or trauma.

In these interventions, horses react to a person’s body language instead of their verbal cues. This way, individuals learn what emotional awareness is and how to better understand themselves.

Scientists from the University of Bristol say that therapeutic robots could serve the same purpose, instead of only being used to follow commands and for practical purposes.

So, instead of seeing robots as only vacuum cleaners or another type of assistance, they could become therapeutic robots that express some type of autonomy and opposition, and only provide a positive reaction after a user shows calmness, achieving the same outcome as a horse would.

Horses tend to respond to humans only when they’re “emotionally regulated,” and these therapy devices could follow the same logic, refusing to engage with stressed or upset users, explained Ellen Weir from Bristol’s Faculty of Science and Engineering via Interesting Engineering.

This approach could change the way robots are used now, shifting them from blindly obedient devices to technology that could help consumers with their emotional difficulties.

Another reason to adopt therapeutic robots is that while EAI proved beneficial, not many can access such help since it takes a lot of resources to train horses and find expert facilitators.

Such a tech-based option could aid more people who suffer from trauma or mental health issues.

Scientists see an even broader scope of where emotionally reactive robots could be used in the future, with these devices being used in schools and workplaces.

The researchers' next step is designing a robot that can read human emotions. Even then, the question remains whether it could provide the same quality of aid as horses do.