Perceived safety during human-robot interaction with an autonomous mobile robot

Autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) are being rapidly implemented in the manufacturing and warehousing industries. Research could help enhance our understanding of human workers' safety perceptions and behaviors when interacting with AMRs, enabling the improvement of collision-avoidance strategies and criteria for safer interactions. In this study, we examined the effects of AMR shelf height, movement speed, and trajectory path on perceived safety, mental workload, robot trust, proxemic behaviors, and task performance during a simulated loading/unloading task. Overall, AMR speed and trajectory path had the largest impact on the task outcomes, while there was minimal variation across height conditions. Findings from this research can be considered for the design of AMRs and facilities that utilize them.