Towards Effective Human–Robot Teamwork

Overview

As robots take on a growing role in aerospace, nuclear, autonomous systems, and healthcare, their success increasingly depends on how well they work alongside people, not just on their technical capability alone. Yet design guidance for Human–Robot teamwork remains fragmented, with lessons learned in one sector rarely reaching another. This workshop brings together researchers and practitioners from across these diverse domains to compare experiences, surface common challenges, and begin building a shared, transferable foundation for designing safe and effective Human–Robot teams.

Through invited talks and poster presentations, the workshop will examine how Human–Robot teams are designed, deployed, and evaluated in practice. A key output will be a catalogue of real-world use cases in Human–Robot teaming, providing a practical foundation for future system design. These discussions will directly inform a whitepaper on Human–Robot teamwork scenarios, which the organisers intend to submit to ACM Transactions on Human-Robot Interaction.

Format

A half-day workshop combining invited talks and poster sessions with corresponding lightning talks, followed by a panel discussion representing different application domains. Panel members will include the invited speaker(s) and invited participants from diverse domains.

Call for Posters

We invite poster contributions on topics including, but not limited to:

Requirements engineering for Human–Robot interaction and teaming
Evaluation methodologies for Human–Robot teamwork systems
Deployment challenges and lessons learned
Formal specification and verification of Human–Robot teams
Case studies involving Human–Robot teams

Submission details

We ask that attendees submit short poster abstracts in advance, which we will use to guide discussion at the workshop. We are collecting these abstracts via this form.

Please send your poster abstracts through the above form by 21st August.

Camera-ready posters will be collected for printing (in A0 size) by 28th August.

Keynote

Andy Weightman

University of Manchester

Title

“Human-robot teams: a symbiotic solution to our problems?”

Abstract

Over the last decade robotics has benefited from advances in many complementary and underpinning technologies including computing power (100-fold), simulation software (GPU accelerated, photo-realistic), energy storage (doubled in MJ/kg), materials (self-healing, soft robotics), sensing (e.g. LiDAR) and artificial intelligence (>1000-fold compute). This has led to the increased prevalence of robotics systems such as UAVs (7-fold increase), robot vacuum cleaners (6-fold increase) and collaborative robots (10-fold increase in value). Are we now entering an age where robots will not just perform tasks humans have traditionally undertaken but instead become co-workers — solving problems such as skills shortages and reductions in risk and economic costs, while improving performance? This talk will review enabling technologies, explore the concept through example applications across industries, and examine the barriers and enablers to adoption in the future.

Bio

Andy is a Professor of Medical Mechatronics at The University of Manchester. His research is challenge driven and focusses on robotics for a safer world and novel technologies to disrupt and transform healthcare. He holds seven active grants spanning advanced manufacturing, robotics for extreme environments, healthcare technologies and a recently awarded NIHR i4i grant for Guided Insertion of Tracheostomy (GIFT), a collaboration with colleagues at Manchester NHS Foundation Trust. He is collaborating with the University of Manchester Innovation Factory to commercialise the GIFT technology, filing patents in five geographical regions. His research has also explored the cause of diabetic foot ulceration, finding differences in thermal regulation between people living with and without the disease. His research group have developed soft robotic insoles to redistribute plantar pressure of the feet when walking to reduce the incidence of ulceration.

Schedule

Time	Session
08:30 – 09:00	Registration & Arrival
09:00 – 09:10	Welcome and Introduction
09:10 – 09:40	Keynote from Andy Weightman
09:40 – 10:30	Poster Lightning Talks Human-Robot Interaction in the Design and Verification of Robotic Systems Holly Hendry, Benedikt Zour, Ana Cavalcanti, Cade McCall, Alvaro Miyazawa, Mark Chattington, Victoria Steane Human–Robot Teams: Collaborative Manufacture, a Domestic Robot Assistant, Astronaut Rover Clare Dixon Project BEECORE: Autonomous Tool Capture in Microgravity Using Human-Driven Learning Dimitris Xydas Runtime Assurance of HRC Tasks using PRV Mustafa Adam, David A. Anisi, Ana Cavalcanti Human-Robot Teamwork for Safe and Effective Inspections in Nuclear Facilities Diana C. Benjumea, Christopher R. Anderson, Marie Farrell, Louise A. Dennis Human-Robot Teaming Response to Tunnel Collapse Event Amber Drinkwater, Laura Hoang Orbital Space Construction: Human-Robot Teaming Amber Drinkwater, Laura Hoang AMET: Autonomous Mars Exploration Team Areeba Umair, Marie Farrell, Michael Fisher, Louise A. Dennis Assured Search and Rescue Human–Robot Teams Yasmeen Rafiq, Hazel Taylor, Marie Farrell
10:30 – 10:45	Coffee Break
10:45 – 12:00	Group Discussion and White Paper Planning Activities
12:00 – 13:15	Lunch

Organisers

Hazel Taylor

University of Manchester

Marie Farrell

University of Manchester

Yasmeen Rafiq

University of Manchester

Sen Zheng

University of Manchester

Areeba Umair

University of Manchester

Get Involved

We welcome poster submissions and attendees from across academia and industry. Questions about the workshop can be directed to the organisers at hazel.taylor@manchester.ac.uk.

ALL ATTENDEES MUST REGISTER FOR THE TAROS CONFERENCE THROUGH THE TAROS WEBSITE.