Whisk: Inducing Altruistic Behavior to Relieve Child Dental Anxiety

Abstract

This study presents Whisk, an interactive robot designed to alleviate Child Dental Anxiety (CDA) and promote health and well-being in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Modeled as a hedgehog, Whisk simulates frightened behaviors such as curling up and raising its quills, interacting with children and guiding them to soothe the robot, thereby reducing their own anxiety. The robot's tactile feedback mechanism helps children shift their attention from fears of dental treatment to caring for the vulnerable robot, improving treatment compliance and alleviating anxiety. User experiments indicate that Whisk is effective in reducing CDA, with the robot's weakness eliciting altruistic behaviors from children. Future work will focus on optimizing emotion recognition and feedback mechanisms, as well as exploring its applications in other medical contexts. Whisk offers a novel solution for children's dental treatment, aiming to enhance the treatment experience and promote health and well-being.