What about the human in human robot collaboration?

Abstract

In this review we address the human in human robot collaboration (HRC). Although there are different hypotheses on potential effects of HRC on job quality, defined as the quality of the working environment and its effect on the employee’s well-being, a comprehensive theory is still lacking. How does HRC influence job quality on an individual level and how can we adapt HRC to boost positivity at work? We identified four job quality related factors that are of relevance in HRC: (1) Cognitive Workload, (2) Collaboration Fluency, (3) Trust, and (4) Acceptance and Satisfaction. Increasing awareness and being able to adapt the robot to the individual operator are crucial to improve the aforementioned factors. Implementing predictable robots, that offer a clear advantage to the human and take into account operators’ preferences, will bring us closer to a human-centered collaboration.

Practitioner Summary: The effect of human robot collaboration (HRC) on job quality is still under debate. Design characteristics of HRC, such as collaboration design, robot design, and workplace design affect job quality related factors. Using a participatory design approach, as to align robot capabilities to end-users’ preferences, will enhance HRC and improve job quality.

Abbreviations: HRC: human robot collaboration; OECD: organisation for economic co-operation and development

Keywords:

• Collaborative robots
• work conditions
• human perspective
• acceptance

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Horizon 2020 Framework Programme of the European Union under the ROSSINI project (Grant Agreement Number 818087).