Handover actions are joint actions in which an object is passed from one actor to another. In order to carry out a smooth handover action, precise coordination of both actors’ movements is of critical importance. This requires the synchronization of both the kinematics of the reaching movement and the grip forces of the two actors during the interaction. Psychologists, for example, may be interested in studying handover actions in order to identify the cognitive mechanisms underlying the interaction of two partners. In addition, robotic engineers may utilize insights from sensorimotor information processing in human handover as models for the design controllers in robots in hybrid (human-robot) interaction scenarios. To date, there is little knowledge transfer between researchers in different disciplines and no common framework or language for the study of handover actions.
For this reason, we systematically reviewed the literature on human-human handover actions in which at least one of the two types of behavioral data, kinematics or grip force, was measured.
Nine relevant studies were identified. The different methodologies and results of the individual studies are here described and contextualized.
Based on these results, a common framework is suggested that, provides a distinct and straightforward language and systematics for use in future studies. We suggest to term the actors as