Human-Robot Interaction (HRI)

• Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) is an interdisciplinary field concentrating on collaboration between humans and robots.
• It encompasses the understanding, design, and evaluation of robotic systems for use alongside humans.
• The objective of HRI is to develop robots capable of operating safely and effectively across diverse environments.

Types of Human-Robot Interaction

• Teleoperation involves humans remotely controlling robots.
• Teleoperation is utilized in industrial automation, medical fields, space exploration, and underwater exploration.
• Key components of teleoperation are the Human-Machine Interface, Communication Link, and Remote Machine/Robot.
• Supervised Autonomy entails robots operating independently on specific tasks while remaining under human supervision.
• Supervised autonomy combines efficiency with human oversight.
• Key components of supervised autonomy include Autonomous Systems, Supervision Interface, and Safety Mechanisms.
• Full Autonomy allows robots to operate and make decisions without human intervention.
• Examples of full autonomy include self-driving cars, medical robots, AI assistants, and search and rescue robots.

Advantages

• Advantages of HRI include increased efficiency and productivity.
• HRI can lead to improvements in healthcare and assistance.
• HRI can result in better decision-making.
• HRI can lead to enhanced safety.
• HRI can reduce human effort in dangerous tasks.
• HRI can improve enhanced accessibility.

Disadvantages

• HRI can result in high costs of development and maintenance.
• HRI can reduce the level of human emotion and intuition.
• HRI might cause dependence on technology.
• HRI can result in job displacement and economic impact.
• HRI can generate ethical and privacy concerns.
• HRI can cause safety and security risks.

Key Concepts in HRI

• Levels of Autonomy are a key concept.
• Teleoperation is when a human fully controls the robot remotely.
• Supervised Autonomy is when a robot operates independently but allows for human intervention.
• Full Autonomy is when a robot functions entirely on its own.

Communication

• Communication is a key concept.
• Verbal communication uses speech recognition (e.g., Alexa).
• Non-Verbal communication uses gestures and facial expressions (e.g., humanoid robots).
• Haptic Feedback is touch-based interaction (e.g., robotic prosthetics).

Safety and Ethics

• Safety and Ethics are key concepts.
• Human Safety involves preventing harm (e.g., emergency stop in self-driving cars).
• Transparency is when robots explain their decisions (e.g., AI in medical diagnosis).
• Bias Prevention avoids unfair AI behavior (e.g., hiring bots).

Adaptability and Learning

• Adaptability and Learning are key concepts.
• AI & Machine Learning improve over time (e.g., chatbots).
• Personalization adapts to user preferences (e.g., AI tutors).
• Intent Recognition predicts human actions (e.g., robotic vacuums avoiding pets).

Collaboration and Teamwork

• Collaboration and Teamwork are key concepts.
• Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC) assists in tasks (e.g., robotic arms in factories).
• Social Robotics enhances emotional engagement (e.g., therapy robots).
• Shared Control is when humans and robots co-decide actions (e.g., exoskeletons in rehab).

Multimodal Interfaces

• Speech Recognition involves voice-controlled robots.
• Gesture Recognition uses motion-based control.
• Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI) are used for thought-controlled robotics.

User Experience & Trust

• Trust & Reliability is when users must feel safe relying on robots.
• Ease of Use involves intuitive designs (e.g., Roomba).
• Emotional Connection is when some robots mimic human emotions (e.g., robotic pets).