Human Machine Interaction and Communication in Cooperative Actions - Bioinspired Approaches for Human-Centric Technologies - page 259

form of cooperation, and, more generally, to fulfill their potential as partners
(or servants), robots will have to cooperate closely with humans.
This chapter shows that cooperative actions is based not only on explicit
planning but also on more subtle forms of coordination that involve the way we
look, move, and interact physically. These forms of communications play an
important role in cooperative actions as they allow partners to understand each
other, guess what one is (or is not) perceiving and wants to do, receive and provide
guidance, synchronize the action, etc.
The challenge that we face to endow robots with these capacities has many
facets. As a matter of fact, the robot must not only be able to identify and
understand these cues as they are exhibited by the human partner but also display
them so that the human partner understands what the robot is actually doing. To
achieve such a result, considerable work is still needed to understand this form of
communication between humans.
In Sect. 8.2 , we mentioned that humans are able to pick up very subtle cues and
can perceive the slightest change in the kinematics of other people's movements.
Moreover, it has been demonstrated that even the simple observation of an action
evokes widespread activities at the cortical level that include primary sensory and
motor areas. The research illustrated in this section constitutes a step forward
figuring out the extent to which the appearance and behavior of the robot must
match the human one.
Robots will also need to be able to exploit physical interaction to communicate
with their human partners. To that end, the body of the robots will have to satisfy
constraints that go beyond what can be perceived visually. Recent research has
shown that mechanical properties like compliance and the ability to regulate it play
a central role in human motor control together with the ability of humans to exploit
the dynamics of their body and of the environment. However, the technology that
might allow robots to interact safely with humans, a prerequisite to be able to
exploit physical interaction to communicate, is still under development. Moreover,
additional research is needed to understand how humans switch strategies when
interacting with different partners not only to control their own movement but also
to communicate with them. This need is particularly well illustrated by the current
development of robots for the sensorimotor rehabilitation of people affected by
neuromotor diseases like stroke, where the robot—like the therapist—must under-
stand the level of assistance that is needed by the patient and adjust its behavior in
consequence.
To conclude, the research on human-robot interaction presented in this chapter
is closely inspired by our current understanding of the human sensory, motor, and
cognitive systems. As a matter of fact, a deep understanding of humans' body and
mind appears to be crucial to develop machines and robots, whether they have a
humanoid appearance or not, that can interact closely and cooperate with humans.
While this was not the main focus of this chapter, it is also important to note that our
understanding of the sensory and, in particular, motor systems benefits greatly from
the tools and theoretical concepts that are developed in engineering to address the
challenges that one faces when trying to build such a machines. Moreover, a future