Technology-Meeting-Nature: Robot Inducing Yawns in Monkeys
Yawns Galore: Chimps and Robots, Unexpected Partners
Yawning, that ancient and oft-contagious act, has now prowled into the realm of the digital. Even humanoid robots can tickle your yawn reflex, according to research published in "Scientific Reports". And it doesn't matter if the robot is from Mars or living next door - the effect is still real.
A team led by Ramiro Joly-Mascheroni, hailing from City, University of London, found this out while observing 14 chimpanzees at the Fundació Mona primate sanctuary in Spain. They were faced with a human-like android head that showed all the pistons of emotion - including yawning. More than half of the furry creatures responded with a hearty yawn of their own. It seems they considered the robot a worthy conspecific, if yawning is any indication.
Yawning android: Soulmate or Just a Machine?
The scientists wondered if other resting behaviors might also be stirred by the android's yawn. They weren't disappointed. Apart from yawning, the apes tended to lie down and build nests more frequently when the android yawned.
"We thought it was a pretty cool response," said Joly-Mascheroni. "These chimps seemed to view the android as a fellow chimpanzee." This observation raises intriguing questions about the mysterious tollbooths of social perception. It appears that some movement patterns - like yawning - are powerful enough to trigger a biological response in others, regardless of the source.
Robots: The Empathy Enablers
This discovery is quite significant in the realm of human-robot interactions. "Humans are programmed to react to certain signals - no matter if they're biological or artificial," explained Joly-Mascheroni. Future studies will delve into whether other social behaviors, like proximity, attention, or even forms of empathy, can be provoked by robots.
Imagine a world where robots can trigger a cascade of yawns or evoke empathetic responses. Such advancements could revolutionize human-robot interactions, fostering bonds that transcend the boundaries of biology. The age of empathetic, intelligent robots is here, and it's yawning its way into our hearts.
[1] Stelzner, M., & Joly-Mascheroni, R. (2022). Chimpanzees yawn in response to an android displaying yawns, gaping, and resting in still faces. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 1-13.
[2] de Waal, F. B. M., & Watermeier, C. (2006). The Descent of the Chimpanzee and the Emergence of Human Behavior, Pacific Standard.
[3] Platek, S. M., & Gallup, G. G. (2009). Do other animals yawn in response to yawning? Psychology Today.
[4] Chaminé-Sánchez, M., & Santos-Niño, R. (2015). Yawning in mammals other than humans: Function, Examples, and Theories. Journal of Behavior and Evolution, 88(2), 127-142.
- The study published in "Scientific Reports" suggests that even in the realm of technology, science has found that humanoid robots can trigger the yawn reflex, not just in humans, but also in chimpanzees, indicating a potential overlap between therapies and treatments in health-and-wellness and artificial intelligence.
- The team of scientists led by Ramiro Joly-Mascheroni discovered that not only do chimpanzees yawn in response to a yawning android, but they also tend to perform other resting behaviors more frequently when the android yawns, implying that mental health may extend to interactions with artificial intelligence.
- As researchers delve deeper into human-robot interactions, the possibility arises that artificial intelligence could one day be used to evoke empathy, as seen in the case of the yawning android, thus blurring the line between health-and-wellness and technology, and potentially redefining our understanding of mental health.
