How Much Distance Should Robots Keep from Other Workers at Construction Jobsites?

Abstract

For autonomous robots deployed in human-populated workplaces, adhering to people’s interpersonal space is a key prerequisite for safe and efficient navigation. Especially in safety-critical work environments such as construction jobsites, robots should be capable of not only avoiding collisions but also maintaining a socially acceptable distance from other workers to achieve safety and efficiency. However, what is deemed as appropriate distance can vary based on work contexts. To this end, this study aims to understand the preferred interpersonal safety distance in different construction work contexts such as the size of the workspaces. We developed simulated work environments and conducted proxemics experiments. We found that participants tend to keep a larger minimum distance when interacting with a robot and in a more constrained condition than the normal one. Our findings can be used to develop a more safe, socially acceptable robot path planning in workplaces.