International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD)

Volume 6 Issue 4, May-June 2022 Available Online: www.ijtsrd.com e-ISSN: 2456 – 6470

Human-Robot Interaction
Matthew N. O. Sadiku , Uwakwe C. Chukwu2, Abayomi Ajayi-Majebi3, Sarhan M. Musa1
1

1
Roy G. Perry College of Engineering, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX, USA
2
Department of Engineering Technology, South Carolina State University, Orangeburg, SC, USA
3
Department of Manufacturing Engineering, Central State University, Wilberforce, OH, USA

ABSTRACT How to cite this paper: Matthew N. O.

Human–robot interaction (HRI) is essentially the field of study of Sadiku | Uwakwe C. Chukwu | Abayomi
interactions between humans and robots. It exists at the overlap of Ajayi-Majebi | Sarhan M. Musa
several academic disciplines such as psychology, philosophy, "Human-Robot Interaction" Published in
anthropology, cognitive science, the social sciences, artificial International Journal
of Trend in
intelligence, computer science, robotics, engineering, and human-
Scientific Research
computer interaction. It is dedicated to understanding, designing, and and Development
evaluating robotic systems used by humans. The goal of HRI is (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-
seeking to better understand the nature of interaction between 6470, Volume-6 |
humans and machines. Long-term human-robot interaction is Issue-4, June 2022, IJTSRD50050
important in several areas such as for companion robots, pp.376-382, URL:
rehabilitation, and education. This paper introduces human-robot www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd50050.pdf
interaction and critically reflects on some of its key challenges.
Copyright © 2022 by author(s) and
KEYWORDS: robots, robotics, human-robot interaction, human- International Journal of Trend in
robot collaboration Scientific Research and Development
Journal. This is an
Open Access article
distributed under the
terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution License (CC BY 4.0)
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)

INTRODUCTION
Humans have been fascinated by robots, what they between human and robot workspace are getting
are and what they can do. A robot is essentially a blurred. In recent years, robots are being used in close
machine designed to do something, Today, robots are proximity with humans in a variety of settings such as
everywhere. They are increasing used in our society, homes, schools, workplace, and hospitals.
creating some concern about their relationship with
New robotic systems are intended to play the role of
humans. Some lifelike robots can carry on simple
teammates and partners with humans to perform
conversations. Some people who think highly of their
operations. Poor interaction between human operators
robots and treat them as an extension of themselves.
and robots will be progressively costly and
Lonesome individuals appreciate robots keeping them
calamitous. Human-robot interaction (HRI) is an
company [1]. Robots are increasingly being
interdisciplinary effort aimed at understanding and
developed for real-world applications such as
improving all aspects of interactions between humans
healthcare, rehabilitation, manufacturing, social
and robots. It is the science of studying people's
assistance, surveillance, and education. Behaviors and
behavior and attitudes towards robots. The goal of
appearances of robots have been changing
HRI is to develop robots that facilitate the human-
dramatically.
robot interactions while meeting the social and
While autonomous robots are good at repetitive tasks emotional needs of individual users as well as
in controlled environments, the world in which most respecting human values.
humans live is messy, constantly changing, filled with
HRI can take many forms. Picture a school teacher
other people, and is unstructured environment. Robots
using an assistive robot to help students when they
are getting closer to the humans and the boundaries
get stuck. Imagine an elderly being reminded to take

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 International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470
his medicine. Think of a robot helping you to cook or BACKGROUND ON HUMAN-ROBOT
clean at home [2]. Robots provide entertainment and INTERACTION
companionship for people. A doctor may use robotic The role of robots in our society is expanding,
technology in order to find out about the nature of a bringing up a lot of issues surrounding the
particular medical condition. relationship between robots and humans. In recent
years, human-robot interaction (HRI) has become an
WHAT IS A ROBOT?
important field of robotics. HRI has received
The word “robot” was coined by Czech writer Karel
considerable attention in the academic community,
Čapek in his play in 1920. Isaac Asimov coined the
term “robotics” in 1942 and came up with three rules industries, government, and the media.
to guide the behavior of robots [3]: HRI is a multidisciplinary field with contributions
1. Robots must never harm human beings, from human–computer interaction, artificial
2. Robots must follow instructions from humans intelligence, robotics, natural-language processing,
without violating rule 1, design, sociology, and psychology. It is a new
3. Robots must protect themselves without violating discipline that has attracted a lot of attention in recent
the other rules. years. Ideally physical HRI should offer the users
robotic systems that are easy to handle, intuitive to
Robotics has advanced and taken many forms
use, ergonomic and adaptive to human habits. Figure
including fixed robots, collaborative robots, mobile
2 shows a framework for conceptualizing HRI [8].
robots, industrial robots, medical robots, police
robots, military robots, officer robots, service robots, It is widely believed that “good” interaction with a
space robots, social robots, personal robots, and robot must reflect natural interaction and
rehabilitation robots [4,5]. Robots are becoming communication as closely as possible. The workspace
increasingly prevalent in almost every industry, from between robots and humans is explicitly shared, and
healthcare to manufacturing. direct interaction with each other is desired.
Interaction between robots and humans can be
Although there are many types of robots designed for
separated into two general categories [9]:
different environments and for different
Remote Interaction: The human and the robot
purposes/applications, they all share four basic
are not co-located and are separated spatially or
similarities [6]: (1) All robots have some form of
even temporally. Remote interaction with mobile
mechanical construction designed to achieve a
robots often is referred to as teleoperation or
particular task; (2) They have electrical components
supervisory control, and remote interaction with a
which power and control the machinery; (3) All
physical manipulator is often referred to as
robots must be able to sense its surroundings; a robot
telemanipulation.
may have light sensors (eyes), touch and pressure
sensors (hands), chemical sensors (nose), hearing and Proximate Interactions: The humans and the
sonar sensors (ears), etc. (4) All robots contain some robots are co-located. Service robots may be in
level of computer programming code. An the same room as humans. Proximate interaction
autonomous robot must have a basic body structure with mobile robots may take the form of a robot
(the chassis), sensors, a central control system assistant, and proximate interaction may include a
(microprocessor), actuators (motors), a power supply physical interaction. Social interactions with
and an overall program for its behavior. Programs are robots appear to be proximate rather than remote
the core essence of a robot since they provide since the humans and robots interact as peers or
intelligence. There are three different types of robotic companions.
programs: remote control, artificial intelligence, and An important aspect of human-robot
hybrid. Some robots are programmed to faithfully interaction/collaboration is the presence of the human
carry out specific actions over and over again or the human element. Autonomous robots have their
(repetitive actions) without variation and with a high own understanding of a situation and use that to make
degree of accuracy. decisions independently from their human
The advantages of robotics include heavy-duty jobs counterparts. The human behavior, on the other hand,
with precision and repeatability. Despite these is usually highly unpredictable and difficult to model.
advantages, there are certain skills to which humans Robots designed to work with humans will face a
will be better suited than machines for some time to variety of emotions, such as anger and frustration. As
come. Humans have the advantages of creativity, shown in Figure 3, robots are likely to affect humans
decision-making, flexibility, and adaptability. Figure emotionally [10]. Human communication
1 illustrates the design space of robots [7]. incorporates plenty of social cues – from facial
expressions to body language. By understanding these

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social cues, robots can enable collaborative scenarios nature of a particular medical condition or
with humans. impairment. The demand for collaborative robots
is growing due to their safe design, versatility,
Trust is one of the necessary factors for building a
productivity, and low prices. As shown in Figure
successful human-robot interaction.
4, an industrial robot arm collaborates with a
It is regarded as a social glue that connects people and human operator [13].
promotes collective goals. Trust is not limited to only
inter-personal interactions, and it can affect different Rehabilitation Robots: The medical community
employs robots for increasingly complex tasks
forms of interaction, including relationships among
human individuals and robots. Relation-based trust such as robotic-assisted surgeries. Rehabilitation
implies the acceptance of a robot as a trusted social robot is an example of a robot-aided medical
agent. A robot should have some features such as system. Robots can be configured as collaborative
robot and can be used for rehabilitation of users
being sincere and ethical to the person with whom it
interacts. Affective HRI is emerging as a necessary with motor impairment. They may help elderly
field of study as robots become more commonplace in users at home with physical tasks, reminding
operating in social environments and domains, such them of appointment/events or the need to take
medicine, and bring up their favorite topics when
as caring for older adults, companionship, and
education [11]. they appear sad.
Social Robots: This explores important issues in
APPLICATIONS OF HUMAN-ROBOT
designing a robot system that works with people
INTERACTION
in everyday environments. Social robots interact
Several current applications of robots require them to
and communicate with humans or other agents by
work alongside people as capable members of
exhibiting social behaviors and following norms.
human-robot teams. Applications of human–robot
They are typically robotic systems deployed in
interaction/collaboration include industrial
people’s homes, hospitals, or other care settings.
manufacturing, medical technology through
They are often equipped with tactile sensors to
rehabilitation, autism intervention, elderly care
allow the robot to respond to human touch. Social
devices, hospital care, entertainment, human
robots are used in daily life such at a school, train
convenience, social robotics, service robots. assistive
station, shopping mall, and science museum. A
robotics, robot-assisted search-and-rescue,
social robot may understand the meaning of
telepresence robots, companionship, education,
human body gestures, facial expressions, and
agriculture, space exploration, military battle, bomb
verbal language. Social robots have exploded in
detection, and law enforcement. Some of these
popularity in recent years due to their various uses
application areas are discussed as follows [3]:
at home, in customer-service, education, and
Industrial Robots: These robots have been healthcare settings. People's relationships with
implemented to collaborate with humans to such robots will cover a range from "funny toy"
perform industrial manufacturing tasks (such as to "long-term companion.” Interactive scenarios
welding, gluing, or pick and place) Traditional for social robots require not only the ability to
industrial robots are programmed to accomplish a find and track humans, but also to understand
fixed and repetitive task. Lightweight robots are their gestures and actions [14].
replacing the traditional industrial robots due to
Service Robots: These can assist people in their
their advantages: they are less dangerous and their
homes or at work, and they may join this field in
compliance allows the users to work in close
order to find out how to handle situations when
proximity [12]. In industrial robotic, assembly-
these robots need to interact with people. Robots
line robots can perform versatile grasping tasks.
may play the role of service providers,
In the industrial setting, a lot of tasks can be
companions and “helpers.”
executed automatically using robots, such as
picking, placing, welding, assembly, and Manufacturing: Robotic automation has
inspection. drastically changed the way manufacturing is
planned and performed. A new manufacturing
Collaborative Robots: Robots are specifically
paradigm is emerging with shorter product life
designed to work with people. These robots are
cycles, mass personalization, and interactions
marketed as “collaborative” in that they are
between humans and robots in close proximity. If
supposedly safer. Humans who build more
the human and automation can be combined, the
accurate robot are often better collaborators. A
advantages of production flexibility, product mix,
physician may use robots to find out about the
and reconfiguration can be achieved [15].

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Healthcare: The integration of robotic systems in It has been observed that when the robot performs
healthcare settings is accelerating. Robots are a proactive behavior and does not respect a
used as diagnostic aids, mobile assistants, "safety distance," the user sometimes expresses
physical rehabilitation providers, cognitive fear.
assistants, social and cognitive skills trainers, or Supervised exposure to a social robot can
therapists. Arguments for using robots healthcare
decrease uncertainty and increase willingness to
include increased cost-effectiveness, protections
interact with the robot
for the healthcare workers, urgent need to
supplement the declining numbers of available Interacting with a robot by looking at or touching
caregivers [16]. the robot can reduce negative feelings that some
people have about robots before interacting with
Automatic Driving: From driving directions to them.
choosing the food we eat, machines/robots are
influencing our decisions daily. A specific Developing complex robots for human-robot
example of human–robot interaction is the interaction requires substantial amount of
human-vehicle interaction in automated driving. resources, equipment, know-how, and funding.
There is a lot of trusts a human needs to have in The development may take years until it is fully
the self-driving car that it can safely transport operative and functioning.
them from point A to point B. Although children are encouraged to participate in
Other areas of applications of HRI include search- robotic competitions, robots are often designed
and-rescue mission, teleoperation, military, from an adult perspective, largely ignoring
transportation, logistics, agriculture, construction, children's perceptions and attitudes about robots.
entertainment, and space exploration Human safety is a key requirement for robots to
BENEFITS work alongside humans in any environment.
Human-robot interaction research is an inter- Bringing robots and humans spatially together
disciplinary field with enormous future societal leads to the fundamental concern of how to ensure
benefits. Improving the way humans and machines safety of the human.
collaborate can help democratize robotics. Providing There is still much skepticism from potential
the right interface can put the power of robotics in the users towards the increasing deployment of robots
hands of regular people. Robots would fulfill better in domestic environments and workplaces.
human-like tasks. Different disciplines have used HRI
approaches for solving complicated problems, where People tend to anthropomorphize the world
humans and robots interact in some way to obtain around them, and they react socially even to non-
advantages from their collaboration. humanoid-looking technology.
CHALLENGES Since the adoption of robots raises substantial
As robots transition into human environments, a ethical, legal, societal, and regulatory issues, the
variety of technical, ethical, psychological, and legal field of robotics is now receiving attention from
challenges are arising. In reality, robots are far from political and regulatory actors.
showing any truly human-like abilities in terms of We need to consider legal questions of robots’
physical activities, cognition or social abilities. responsibility for their actions, cultural questions
Building humanoids which operate and behave like about racial profiling, and economic questions
human is technologically highly challenging and about the future of labor market in an increasingly
costly. Designing robots and prototyping of scenarios automated society.
for HRI properly remains a difficult task. Human
culture is changing and people's attitudes towards There can be no real love or genuine friendship
robots is also changing. with a robot. The relationship will always be
based on programming.
Other challenges facing HRI include the following
[3]: Some of these problems are extremely challenging
During initial interactions, people are more and have strong societal implications. Despite the
uncertain, anticipate less social presence, and huge investments in robot design, it will take decades
have fewer positive feelings when thinking about for androids to develop near-human capabilities.
interacting with robots, and prefer to CONCLUSION
communicate with a human. Many roboticists believe that robots will enrich
society. They are expecting a future of work that

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establishes a division of labor between humans and ISRN Robotics
robots. Future robots are expected to help us perform
Recent Trends in Mobile Robots
various tasks. They will look and behave very
differently from the one we have today. Human–robot Science Robotics
interaction is an extensive topic that has been gaining Swarm Intelligence
importance in recent years. In reality, it seems that
humans are likely to supervise robots, rather than Trust in Human-Robot Interaction
robots being an equal in a relationship. Human–Computer Interaction
Students should be taught the basic concepts on Foundations and Trends in Human–Computer
robotics, how robots work, how to design them, and Interaction
how to evaluate their performance. They should be
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Figure 1 The design space of robots [7].

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 International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470

Figure 2 A framework for conceptualizing HRI [8].

Expression Perception
Robot Emotion H uma n
User
1) Emotional encounter

H uman perspective
Primitive emotional Emotional
contagion comparison
- Mimicry process es
- Feedback - Comparison

sub conscious conscious

2 ) Emotional transfer

Expression Adaptation
Robot Human
Emotion
User
3 ) Emotional adaptation

Figure 3 Emotional contagion in HRI [10].

Figure 4 An industrial robot arm collaborates with a human operator [13]

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