Unlocking human-robot synergy: The power of intent communication in warehouse robotics.

As autonomous mobile robots (AMR) are introduced into workspace environments shared with people, effective human-robot communication is critical to the prevention of injury while maintaining a high level of productivity. This research presents an empirical study that evaluates four alternative methods for communicating between an autonomous mobile robot and a human at a warehouse intersection. The results demonstrate that using an intent communication system for human-AMR interaction improves objective measures of productivity (task time) and subjective metrics of trust and comfort. • Investigation of intent communication systems (ICS) for human-robot interaction. • Results demonstrate that an ICS improves measures of warehouse productivity and trust. • Study emulates the interaction of humans and forklifts at a warehouse intersection. • Four alternative ICS methods include text, symbol, and avatar displays, and no ICS. • A humanoid avatar ICS was ranked highest in terms of participant preference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]