Recent Advances in Human-Robot Collaboration Towards Joint Action

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent progress in human-robot collaboration, focusing on developing intuitive behaviors and partner-aware control to enhance social and physical interaction capabilities of humanoid robots.

Contribution

It highlights recent advances in robot behaviors and control strategies that improve social interaction and physical collaboration in human-robot partnerships.

Findings

Improved robot behaviors for social interaction

Enhanced partner-aware control mechanisms

Progress towards intuitive physical collaboration

Abstract

Robots existed as separate entities till now, but the horizons of a symbiotic human-robot partnership are impending. Despite all the recent technical advances in terms of hardware, robots are still not endowed with desirable relational skills that ensure a social component in their existence. This article draws from our experience as roboticists in Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC) with humanoid robots and presents some of the recent advances made towards realizing intuitive robot behaviors and partner-aware control involving physical interactions.