HUMAN–ROBOT INTERACTION

Abstract

The relationship of humans to robots has evolved from using tools, to controlling platforms, to supervising automated systems, to collaborating with autonomous agents. This chapter discusses the human element of the evolving man-machine symbiosis including both traditional and emerging human factors issues related to designing systems that emulate human teams operating in complex decision spaces. It reviews common human-robot interaction (HRI) techniques for robots with various degrees of autonomy, including conventional, multimodal, and advanced techniques such as augmented-reality-based systems. The chapter also reviews the state-of-the-art of HRI applications and techniques. Detailed discussion of human-robot communications reviews the state-of-the-art and promising techniques currently under development. Particularly, communications-related issues such as agent transparency are examined in detail. Finally, the chapter provides a thorough examination of human performance issues (situation awareness, trust, workload, training, and individual differences).