Designing for People in Human-Robot Collaboration.

摘要

Designing for People in Human-Robot CollaborationThis special issue contains contributions that investigate ways of Designing for People in Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC).HRC is a subset of Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) where people and robots work together in various configurations towards a shared goal.As robots become increasingly more intimate with people, working in close proximity or becoming social companions, the methods for investigating and developing them should follow, including explorations of human-centred [5] and design-led approaches [6] as well as the impact this may have on the ways people collaborate [3].Design-led research and methods are taking up an increasing amount of space at robotics venues, e.g., with the introduction of a design track at the ACM/IEEE Conference for Human-Robot Interaction in 2015 [1].This turn has previously been termed "designerly HRI" [4], and it encompasses a large variety of research methods and domains.This shift mirrors a broader shift of adopting relational or entangled perspectives in complement to technology as utility.The transdisciplinary intersections of HRC between engineering, design, psychology, and many industries [2] offers opportunities to examine what designing for people means from various perspectives.The papers within this special issue illustrate that we can bring together concepts and methods from different disciplines together successfully in the endeavour to emphasise people in HRC.These findings presented in these papers show that design is inherently non-neutral, shaping either positive or negative outcomes for people.In addition, the socio-economic dimensions of HRC are particularly relevant, as the design and integration of collaborative robots in various sectors can affect stakeholder perceptions and acceptance [7], [8].For example, architectural configurations of space for HRC in industries such as healthcare, education, or manufacturing can either enhance or inhibit accessibility, inclusivity, and safety.Through interdisciplinary collaboration, we can leverage the strengths of each discipline and shape the future of HRC.The selected papers in this special issue offer both systematic reviews and empirical studies on designing, developing, and enhancing HRC.Traditionally, HRC has highlighted physical safety when interacting with collaborative robots, and while this remains a crucial element, this special issue broadens the scope of safety during HRC using a human-centred approach.Specifically, the works in this issue emphasise various types of robots, i.e., cobots and social robots, and their capabilities to improve creativity, mental safety, psychological and ethical risks, and human wellbeing.Key contributions include conceptual frameworks, design principles, as well as robotic prototypes.The research spans diverse domains including industrial settings, creative,