Abstract
Utilising the properties of quantum mechanics, i.e., entanglement, parallelism, etc., a quantum structure is proposed for representing and manipulating emotion space of robots. This quantum emotion space (QES) provides a mechanism to extend emotion interpretation to the quantum computing domain whereby fewer resources are required and, by using unitary transformations, it facilitates easier tracking of emotion transitions over different intervals in the emotion space. The QES is designed as an intuitive and graphical visualisation of the emotion state as a curve in a cuboid, so that an emotion sensor could be used to track the emotion transition as well as its manipulation. This ability to use transition matrices to convey manipulation of emotions suggests the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed approach. Our study is primarily influenced by two developments. First, the massive amounts of data, complexity of control, planning and reasoning required for today's sophisticated automation processes necessitates the need to equip robots with powerful sensors to enable them adapt and operate in all kinds of environments. Second, the renewed impetus and inevitable transition to the quantum computing paradigm suggests that quantum robots will have a role to play in future data processing and human-robot interaction either as standalone units or as part of larger hybrid systems. The QES proposed in this study provides a quantum mechanical formulation for quantum emotion as well as a platform to process, track, and manipulate instantaneous transitions in a robot's emotion. The new perspective will open broad areas, such as applications in emotion recognition and emotional intelligence for quantum robots.