About this Research Topic
The collaboration and interaction between humans and robots is fundamental in several fields, such as assistive robotics. The complementary capabilities of humans and robots can be used to improve the quality of the interaction and the reliability and naturalness of the robot behavior: the main strengths of each partner are combined to achieve a task performance superior to that achieved by the individual partners. Introducing the human user in the control loop of the robot will facilitate the co-existence of the two agents, guaranteeing interactive learning and promoting bidirectional communication between humans and robots in the so-called human-in-the-loop control and learning.
The Research Topic aims at presenting a variety of current approaches aiming at including humans in the interaction with robotic systems endowing robots with adaptation abilities, guaranteeing user satisfaction, and improving technology acceptability.
Despite the positive outcomes and the huge potential of current robotic technologies, domains where human-robot interaction is a key factor (such as assistive and rehabilitation robotics) still have limited results. Therapeutic results of robot-aided therapies are comparable to those achieved with conventional rehabilitation treatments. Also, the behavior of hybrid systems (where robotic systems are coupled with natural systems, as in prostheses) is still very far from the behavior of natural systems.
The integration of humans in the control of robotic systems can improve robot behavior and its adaptation to user characteristics and needs, the user’s level of safety and acceptability of the technology, the subject quality of life and level of autonomy. The strengths of each agent can be emphasized and properly combined to address these outcomes. A robot is able to perform a task autonomously with a desired trajectory and high precision based on the knowledge about the environment and process, while the human may provide on-task corrective action, fine-tuning control, and situational guidance to the robot especially if bidirectional communication is guaranteed. The inclusion of humans in the robot control loop is therefore fundamental to accommodate unpredictability and unmeasurable uncertainties introduced by humans themselves. Specialized applications such as assistive robotics can benefit from such a paradigm.
The scope is to provide an overview on how human needs, intentions, and characteristics are taken into account in the control of assistive robotic systems and in the interaction with them. The Research Topic will discuss the state-of-the-art of interfacing technologies, human-in-the-loop control and learning strategies, in order to point out current challenges for an effective and trustworthy human-robot interaction.
The scope is to provide an overview on how human needs, intention and characteristics are taken into account in the control of assistive robotic systems and in the interaction with them. The Research Topic will discuss the state-of-the-art of interfacing technologies, human-in-the-loop control and learning strategies, in order to point out current challenges for an effective and trustworthy human-robot interaction.
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:
• Assistive Robotics;
• Human-Robot Interaction for assistive purposes;
• Learning in Assistive Robotics;
• Decision Making and Planning during Human-Robot Interaction;
• Closed loop prostheses;
• Multimodal interfaces to improve the interaction with Assistive Robots;
• Human-in-the-loop control strategies;
• Activity and Intention Recognition in Assistive Robotics;
• Somato-sensory feedback for prosthetics and rehabilitation;
• Personalization in assistive robotics;
• Acceptance and trust in assistive robotics.
Research and review articles are welcome.
The Research Topic aims at presenting a variety of current approaches aiming at including humans in the interaction with robotic systems endowing robots with adaptation abilities, guaranteeing user satisfaction, and improving technology acceptability.
Despite the positive outcomes and the huge potential of current robotic technologies, domains where human-robot interaction is a key factor (such as assistive and rehabilitation robotics) still have limited results. Therapeutic results of robot-aided therapies are comparable to those achieved with conventional rehabilitation treatments. Also, the behavior of hybrid systems (where robotic systems are coupled with natural systems, as in prostheses) is still very far from the behavior of natural systems.
The integration of humans in the control of robotic systems can improve robot behavior and its adaptation to user characteristics and needs, the user’s level of safety and acceptability of the technology, the subject quality of life and level of autonomy. The strengths of each agent can be emphasized and properly combined to address these outcomes. A robot is able to perform a task autonomously with a desired trajectory and high precision based on the knowledge about the environment and process, while the human may provide on-task corrective action, fine-tuning control, and situational guidance to the robot especially if bidirectional communication is guaranteed. The inclusion of humans in the robot control loop is therefore fundamental to accommodate unpredictability and unmeasurable uncertainties introduced by humans themselves. Specialized applications such as assistive robotics can benefit from such a paradigm.
The scope is to provide an overview on how human needs, intentions, and characteristics are taken into account in the control of assistive robotic systems and in the interaction with them. The Research Topic will discuss the state-of-the-art of interfacing technologies, human-in-the-loop control and learning strategies, in order to point out current challenges for an effective and trustworthy human-robot interaction.
The scope is to provide an overview on how human needs, intention and characteristics are taken into account in the control of assistive robotic systems and in the interaction with them. The Research Topic will discuss the state-of-the-art of interfacing technologies, human-in-the-loop control and learning strategies, in order to point out current challenges for an effective and trustworthy human-robot interaction.
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:
• Assistive Robotics;
• Human-Robot Interaction for assistive purposes;
• Learning in Assistive Robotics;
• Decision Making and Planning during Human-Robot Interaction;
• Closed loop prostheses;
• Multimodal interfaces to improve the interaction with Assistive Robots;
• Human-in-the-loop control strategies;
• Activity and Intention Recognition in Assistive Robotics;
• Somato-sensory feedback for prosthetics and rehabilitation;
• Personalization in assistive robotics;
• Acceptance and trust in assistive robotics.
Research and review articles are welcome.
Keywords: Human-Robot Interaction, Decision Making and Planning Multimodal interfaces, Human-in-the-loop control strategies, Somato-sensory feedback
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
