Effects of Integrated Intent Recognition and Communication on Human-Robot Collaboration

Human-robot interaction research to date has in-
vestigated intent recognition and communication separately. In
this paper, we explore the effects of integrating both the robot’s
ability to generate intentional motion and predict the human‘s
motion in a collaborative physical task. We implemented an
intent recognition system to recognize the human partner‘s
hand motion intent and a motion planner system to enable the
robot to communicate its intent by using legible and predictable
motion. We tested this bi-directional intent system in a 2-way
within-subjects user study. Results suggest that an integrated
intent recognition and communication system may facilitate
more collaborative behavior among team members.