Past, Present, and Future: A Survey of The Evolution of Affective Robotics For Well-being

• Published in: IEEE transactions on affective computing pp. 1 - 17
• Main Authors: Spitale, Micol, Axelsson, Minja, Jeong, Sooyeon, Tuttosi, Paige, Stamatis, Caitlin A., Laban, Guy, Lim, Angelica, Gunes, Hatice
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 2025
• Subjects: Adaptation models; Affective computing; affective robotics; Computational modeling; Data mining; Ethics; Human-robot interaction; Mental health; Robots; survey; Surveys; Systematic literature review; well-being
• ISSN: 1949-3045; 1949-3045
• DOI: 10.1109/TAFFC.2025.3567740

Recent research in affective robots has recognized their potential in supporting human well-being. Due to rapidly developing affective and artificial intelligence technologies, this field of research has undergone explosive expansion and advancement in recent years. In order to develop a deeper understanding of recent advancements, we present a systematic review of the past 10 years of research in affective robotics for wellbeing. In this review, we identify the domains of well-being that have been studied, the methods used to investigate affective robots for well-being, and how these have evolved over time. We also examine the evolution of the multifaceted research topic from three lenses: technical, design, and ethical. Finally, we discuss future opportunities for research based on the gaps we have identified in our review - proposing pathways to take affective robotics from the past and present to the future. The results of our review are of interest to human-robot interaction and affective computing researchers, as well as clinicians and well-being professionals who may wish to examine and incorporate affective robotics in their practices.