Communicating Through Avatars in Industry 5.0: A Focus Group Study on Human-Robot Collaboration

TL;DR

This study explores how avatars can improve human-robot collaboration in industry by enhancing social interaction and engagement, based on focus group insights from manufacturing workers using cobots.

Contribution

It provides qualitative insights into avatar roles, behavior improvements, and practical deployment considerations in industrial human-robot collaboration.

Findings

Personalized communication enhances worker engagement.

Adaptive avatars improve interaction quality.

Practical deployment requires context-aware behavior.

Abstract

The integration of collaborative robots (cobots) in industrial settings raises concerns about worker well-being, particularly due to reduced social interactions. Avatars - designed to facilitate worker interactions and engagement - are promising solutions to enhance the human-robot collaboration (HRC) experience. However, real-world perspectives on avatar-supported HRC remain unexplored. To address this gap, we conducted a focus group study with employees from a German manufacturing company that uses cobots. Before the discussion, participants engaged with a scripted, industry-like HRC demo in a lab setting. This qualitative approach provided valuable insights into the avatar's potential roles, improvements to its behavior, and practical considerations for deploying them in industrial workcells. Our findings also emphasize the importance of personalized communication and task assistance. Although our study's limitations restrict its generalizability, it serves as an initial step in recognizing the potential of adaptive, context-aware avatar interactions in real-world industrial environments.