Curate, Connect, Inquire: A System for Findable Accessible Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR) Human-Robot Centered Datasets

TL;DR

This paper introduces a system that standardizes the curation and publication of FAIR human-robot datasets and uses a ChatGPT interface for natural language exploration and retrieval, improving data accessibility and usability.

Contribution

It presents a structured methodology for FAIR dataset curation and a ChatGPT-based interface for natural language data exploration in robotics.

Findings

Enhanced discoverability of robotics datasets

Improved data access and understanding

Facilitated comparison of datasets

Abstract

The rapid growth of AI in robotics has amplified the need for high-quality, reusable datasets, particularly in human-robot interaction (HRI) and AI-embedded robotics. While more robotics datasets are being created, the landscape of open data in the field is uneven. This is due to a lack of curation standards and consistent publication practices, which makes it difficult to discover, access, and reuse robotics data. To address these challenges, this paper presents a curation and access system with two main contributions: (1) a structured methodology to curate, publish, and integrate FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) human-centered robotics datasets; and (2) a ChatGPT-powered conversational interface trained with the curated datasets metadata and documentation to enable exploration, comparison robotics datasets and data retrieval using natural language. Developed based on practical experience curating datasets from robotics labs within Texas Robotics at the University of Texas at Austin, the system demonstrates the value of standardized curation and persistent publication of robotics data. The system's evaluation suggests that access and understandability of human-robotics data are significantly improved. This work directly aligns with the goals of the HCRL @ ICRA 2025 workshop and represents a step towards more human-centered access to data for embodied AI.