Human-Autonomous System Interaction Graphical Notation (HASIGN): How Do We Design for Human-Multi-AGV Interaction in Manufacturing Intralogistics?
Abstract
Designing effective human-robot interaction (HRI) for multi-Autonomous Guided Vehicle (AGV) systems in manufacturing remains a significant challenge. While existing modeling tools offer formal representations for system behavior or task flow, they lack support for explicitly modeling multimodal, bidirectional communication between humans and distributed autonomous agents. In this paper, we introduce HASIGN: Human-Autonomous System Interaction Graphical Notation in order to make the design space of human-multi-AGV interaction explicit and tractable. Developed through a Research through Design approach, HASIGN integrates agent roles, interaction modalities, and temporal intent communication into a unified and practical representation. We apply HASIGN to five diverse industrial case studies drawn from ongoing research and development projects. These cases demonstrate the notation's flexibility and domain suitability, while uncovering unexplored areas in the interaction design space. Rather than aiming to replace existing modeling tools, HASIGN complements them by focusing on human-centered communication in autonomous systems. This paper contributes a visual design tool for practitioners and researchers, and lays the foundation for further evaluation, standardization, and adoption in the context of human-centered autonomous intelligent systems (HCAIS).
Fields of Study & Subjects
Social Robot Interaction and HRI
Robot Manipulation and Learning
Human-Automation Interaction and Safety
Publication details
- Journal / source
- ACM Transactions on Autonomous and Adaptive Systems
- Publication date
- 27 January 2026
- Language
- EN