ArticleFrontiers in robotics and AI2026
Tactile regulation with pocket-sized robots: reducing movement and heart rate in children through hand-held interaction.
Article in Frontiers in robotics and AI, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
Periods of heightened arousal or restlessness can interfere with children's ability to remain physically calm in everyday settings such as classrooms. Handheld tactile technologies may offer a simple and engaging way to support brief moments of structured sensory-motor engagement. This paper investigates how a pocket-sized tactile device influences physiological and behavioral markers of calmness in typically developing children. Building on prior work examining heart-rate modulation, we present new findings on how a handheld rhythm-matching interaction affects full-body movement and postural stability. Eighteen children participated in a within-subjects study involving two conditions: active interaction with a handheld tactile rhythm-matching game and a comparison condition in which they held the same device with the tactile interaction disabled. Results showed lower heart rate during active interaction, with an average reduction of 3.37 bpm (p = 0.019), and lower overall body movement, with movement decreasing by 37.6% (p = 0.002). Regional movement analyses showed the largest reductions in head, neck, and shoulder movement (44.8% reduction) and upper-limb movement (48.5% reduction). These findings suggest that brief tactile rhythm-matching interaction with a handheld device is associated with reduced acute physiological arousal and physical restlessness in children. The study provides a preliminary baseline for future work examining how tactile robotic interactions may support calmness in more demanding or stressful contexts.
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