Human-Robot Synergy for Cooperative Robots

2020

I hereby declare that this dissertation incorporates material that is result of joint research, as follows: This dissertation incorporates the outcome of a joint research undertaken in collaboration with Professor Majid Ahmadi from University of Windsor in Chapters 3 and 4, and Dr. Mahta Khoshnam and Dr. Carlo Menon from Simon Fraser University in Chapter 7, under the supervision of professor Mehrdad Saif. In all chapters, the key and primary contributions, experimental designs, data analysis and interpretation, were implemented by the author. The contributions of the co-authors were primarily through the provision of valuable suggestions for representing of ideas, proof reading and reviewing the research papers regarding the technical and vocabulary contents.

The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 2020

Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC) is a form of direct interaction between humans and robots. The objective of this type of interaction is to perform a task by combining the skills of both humans and robots. HRC is characterized by several aspects, related both to robots and humans. Many works have focused on the study of specific aspects related to HRC, e.g., safety, task organization. However, a major issue is to find a general framework to evaluate the collaboration between humans and robots considering all the aspects of the interaction. The goals of this paper are the following: (i) highlighting the different latent dimensions that characterize the HRC problem and (ii) constructing a conceptual framework to evaluate and compare different HRC configuration profiles. The description of the methodology is supported by some practical examples.

2023

Human-robot collaboration (HRC) is revolutionising the future of manufacturing and service industries. Ethical research on HRC regards all issues of safeguarding humans from unintended and potentially unethical risks and hazards associated with collaborative robots (also known as cobots). Within the cobots domain, the term Roboethics has been coined to refer to the social and ethical aspects of the design, development, and employment of collaborative and intelligent robots, which could be clustered into four typologies: (1) robots as machines; (2) robots may have an intrinsic ethical dimension and be able to trigger emotions and feelings from users; (3) robots are seen as moral agents; (4) robots are an evolution of a new species, having a conscience and greater intellectual dimensions. This paper aims to provide a review of the available literature in the field to map the ethical aspects and concerns that are discussed in the HRC domain, taking into account the above Roboethics typologies. The paper will conclude by outlining an agenda for future ethical research in HR.

TUTS Working Paper, 2020

Whether we look at Europe, the USA or Japan, in many areas in the world new possibilities of employing robotic systems in work settings essentially rely on direct collaborative interaction be-tween human workers and collaborative robots leading to new distributions of agency between them and making available robotic operations as resources for performing different forms of work, work which otherwise would remain out of reach for robotic automation for the time being. In this paper we introduce our concepts of studying the social construction of these collaborative work settings and the distribution of agency, accordingly. Referring to the basic idea of actor-network theory that technology in use should be analysed in a symmetrical manner, treating all the human and nonhuman entities involved as actors, our concept of distributed agency goes beyond actor-network theory in that it introduces the notion of gradualised action, which allows distinguishing between different levels of distributed agency. Therefore, we can precisely describe, in which way and to what extent activities and actor positions are delegated to robot co-workers or remain with its human counterpart. For analysing how the distribution of agency between human and robot co-workers is socially constructed in different stages, first in laboratory settings and then in increas-ingly realistic real-world settings, we interpret the spectrum of manifestations of human-robot col-laboration as prototypically realised scenarios at different stages of elaboration. In doing so we introduce the current state of collaborative robots in the areas of industrial production and care work as they represent contrastive cases: In industrial production collaborative robots are the next step in a long-standing history of robotic automation whereas in care work the new robots are also the first robots to be employed there. We believe that in both fields a perspective on collaborative work between humans and robots as a socio-technical constellation is helpful in order to be able to identify new distributions of work tasks.

HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), 2013

The design of work organisation systems with automated equipment is facing new challenges and the emergence of new concepts. The social aspects that are related with new concepts on the complex work environments (CWE) are becoming more relevant for that design. The work with autonomous systems implies options in the design of workplaces. Especially that happens in such complex environments. The concepts of "agents", "co-working" or "human-centred technical systems" reveal new dimensions related to human-computer interaction (HCI). With an increase in the number and complexity of those human-technology interfaces, the capacities of human intervention can become limited, originating further problems. The case of robotics is used to exemplify the issues related with automation in working environments and the emergence of new HCI approaches that would include social implications. We conclude that studies on technology assessment of industrial robotics and autonomous agents on manufacturing environment should also focus on the human involvement strategies in organisations. A needed participatory strategy implies a new approach to workplaces design. This means that the research focus must be on the relation between technology and social dimensions not as separate entities, but integrated in the design of an interaction system.

Bristol Research (University of Bristol), 2014

The success of the human-robot co-worker team in a flexible manufacturing environment where robots learn from demonstration heavily relies on the correct and safe operation of the robot. How this can be achieved is a challenge that requires addressing both technical as well as human-centric research questions. In this paper we discuss the state of the art in safety assurance, existing as well as emerging standards in this area, and the need for new approaches to safety assurance in the context of learning machines. We then focus on robotic learning from demonstration, the challenges these techniques pose to safety assurance and outline opportunities to integrate safety considerations into algorithms "by design". Finally, from a human-centric perspective, we stipulate that, to achieve high levels of safety and ultimately trust, the robotic co-worker must meet the innate expectations of the humans it works with. It is our aim to stimulate a discussion focused on the safety aspects of human-in-the-loop robotics, and to foster multidisciplinary collaboration to address the research challenges identified. Robotic co-workers are machines designed to support flexible manufacturing in collaboration with humans. They complement the skills and cognitive abilities that enable humans to accomplish frequently changing, varied or imprecise tasks, with strength, precision, endurance and limitless capacity for repetition. These robots are expected to provide assistance for a wide variety of tasks. To reduce or even eliminate the effort involved with frequently re-programming robots so that they can perform new tasks, techniques that enable robot learning from demonstration are now being developed . Such techniques empower non-experts to teach or train robots, e.g. how to be most useful within a flexible manufacturing environment. Flexible manufacturing requires robotic co-workers to act within the personal space of a human. They may be involved in shared manipulation of objects and even make direct contact with their human operators. To be genuinely useful, some robots may need to be powerful and therefore are potentially dangerous. Safety of the humans that interact with *The authors were brought together during a Safe and Trustworthy Autonomous Assistive Robots (STAARs) workshop sponsored by the Institute for Advanced Studies at the University of Bristol.

Reviewing Assistive Human-Robot Experiences for Inclusive Human-Robot Interaction, 2022

Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) and collaboration have gained immense popularity recently, owing to the new mechanisms and advancements in the field of computing and the symbiotic nature of the involved processes. It relates to the ever-dynamic means of communication between humans and robots. Such interactions work both ways, i.e., inputs and commands from humans and the expression of the robot's interpretations. A significant amount of work has been done in this area; however, there are still challenges in assistive human-robot experiences. This study aims to review the literature on assistive robots to bring the current research together, identify persistent gaps and challenges, and recommend ways to enhance human-robot interaction. This paper covers critical aspects of assistive robots in social environments for sociophysical needs and assistance for children and the elderly with special needs. Given advancements in elements like sensor technologies, manufacturing materials, machine learning, control methodologies, and computer capacity, the subject of assistive robots is bound to see tremendous results. The findings in this paper present gaps, issues, and challenges in today's assistive robots that hinder human-robot interaction. The findings can be used to summarize the current works and provide a base for technological innovations to enhance the interactions between humans and their partner robots.

2013

Industrial robotics is currently witnessing a phase where a lot of effort is directed towards applications of standard industrial robots in smaller industries with short production lines, where the environment is rather unstructured and rapidly changing. Standard industrial robot systems face limitations in their ability to adapt to these environments, and with the complexity of some tasks which seem relatively easier to humans. We present a framework for intuitive symbiotic human robot collaboration in industrial scenarios, where the differing capabilities of human and robot can be combined in a way which enhances the overall effectiveness of the process.

Journal of Advanced Research in Leadership, 2022

Industry 4.0 is based on the implementation of smart technologies. Work teams consisting of humans and intelligent machines, such as robots, are becoming more common. Their cooperation is based on joint performance of tasks in order to achieve set goals. The aim of the article is to present the challenges associated with the functioning of new types of work teams in organizations: based on cooperation between people and intelligent machines (robots or artificial intelligence algorithms). The article discusses the impact of factors such as trust, mental models, human personality, and machine reliability on the functioning of human-robot teams. It is shown how these areas can affect the performance of HRI -Human Robot Interaction Teams. The literature analysis indicates that before valuable human-robot interaction can occur, humans must first build trust in the machines. And the reliability of robots, and the human sense of control over them, increases trust. In addition, human personality and the attributes presented by a robot are also important for cooperation. For example, robots perceived as extroverted and socially intelligent have a high level of acceptance from humans.

Multi-Robot Systems: From Swarms to Intelligent Automata, 2002

Human-robot interaction (HRI) for mobile robots is still in its infancy. Most user interactions with robots have been limited to tele-operation capabilities where the most common interface provided to the user has been the video feed from the robotic platform and some way of directing the path of the robot. For mobile robots with semiautonomous capabilities, the user is also provided with a means of setting way points. More importantly, most HRI capabilities have been developed by robotics experts for use by robotics experts. As robots increase in capabilities and are able to perform more tasks in an autonomous manner we need to think about the interactions that humans will have with robots and what software architecture and user interface designs can accommodate the human in-the-loop. We also need to design systems that can be used by domain experts but not robotics experts. This paper outlines a theory of human-robot interaction and proposes the interactions and information needed by both humans and robots for the different levels of interaction, including an evaluation methodology based on situational awareness.