ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the modelling of the pre-touch reaction distance around a face by observing human–human interaction and implementing pre-touch reaction behaviour in an android named ERICA, which has a feminine, human-like appearance. We conducted a data collection to investigate the pre-touch reaction distance to another’s touch with 40 participants and analysed the data based on gender and angle perspectives. We eventually chose 20 cm as a pre-touch reaction distance and implemented a pre-touch reaction distance towards our android. We experimentally investigated the effectiveness of this implemented reaction distance, and the results showed that participants positively evaluated a robot that reacted to being touched based on a 20-cm distance.
