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To prevent elderly people from being socially isolated, encouraging their self-disclosure takes an important role. We discuss a use case of social robots in which they are deployed as mediators for humans that intermediate remote communication between elderly people and their family members or friends. The goal of this article is to present a design guideline for such social mediator robots based on results obtained from two studies in which a total of 741 elderly people participated. In study 1, we explored topics in dialogues and found that a social mediator robot could well encourage the self-disclosure of the elderly people, particularly in topics of which they usually feel resistance in talking to others (e.g., loss experiences). Thus, we confirmed the feasibility of the social mediator robot. Study 2 pursued the effective personality traits of the social mediator robot. We re-investigated a well-studied research question of matching robot personality to the user. The results provided more detailed knowledge as to similarity-attraction/repulsion than had been reported previously. Finally, design recommendations were discussed by considering the personality traits of the elderly users as well. CCS Concepts: • Computer systems organization → Robotics; • Human-centered computing → Interaction design; User studies;

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Social soft robotics may provide a new solution for alleviating human pain and fear. Here, we introduce a hand-held soft robot that can be clenched by the wearer. The robot comprises small airbags that can be inflated to provide the wearer with a feeling of being clenched. We then conducted an in-depth study of 66 adults who participated in a pain research protocol using thermal stimulation to investigate the effect of wearing the robot on pain perception and fear of injections. Pain assessment scale scores for perceived pain decreased significantly $$(p < 0.05)$$ ( p < 0.05 ) when participants wore the robot compared with the baseline condition in which the robot was not worn. In addition, the saliva test results showed a downward trend in oxytocin level when the robot provided the wearer with haptic feedback via the inflation of the internal airbags in response to the wearer’s clench. Furthermore, the negative psychological state of participants, as measured using the positive and negative affect scale, improved significantly when wearing the robot. We also revealed that the salivary cortisol level, an indicator of stress, decreased significantly across all participants at the end of the experiment. In addition, participants’ fear of injections was significantly improved after participation in the experiment. These results suggest that the wearable soft robot may alleviate the human perception of pain and fear in during medical treatments, such as vaccinations.