Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Human Augmentation and Teaming in Emergency Situations

Robots designed for direct human-robot cooperation (HRC) in a shared environment are referred to as collaborative robots (cobots). Novel scientific trends in cobots research are moving the technology from predictable spaces like production lines into disaster zones. Cobots can collaborate with their human teammates in the aftermath of earthquakes, accidents, avalanches, or explosions, reducing the risk to human life and enhancing the likelihood of rescuing victims. Collaboration between humans and robots needs to go much further – rather than seeing robots as tools or mobile sensors, they need to be seen as team members or even as augmentations of human capabilities in emergency situations.

In this perspective, this cluster combines Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and Mixed Reality (MR), collectively called Xtended Reality (XR), with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Augmenting Robots – Robotics for Human Augmentation – to increasing human capabilities, physical and mental, in emergency situations. This is supported by the remarkable paradigm shift transitioning from human-robot interaction (HRI), to human-robot collaboration (HRC), and the advent of human-robot teaming (HRT).

Research Focus

Multi-Agent Coordination in Disaster Management: Explore how teams of human responders and robots, such as drones and ground robots, can jointly perform search and rescue (SAR) operations in disaster-prone areas, such as natural disasters or industrial accidents.
Cross-Sector Response: Enabling effective collaboration between public safety, healthcare, and military sectors by developing interoperable systems that allow diverse robotic platforms to coordinate with human teams seamlessly.
Data-Driven Situational Awareness: Leveraging robotic systems equipped with advanced sensors to provide real-time data analysis and mapping of affected areas, enhancing human decision-making in critical moments.
Adaptive Robot Behavior for Dynamic Environments: Developing robot control and behavior models that can adapt to changing conditions and human feedback in high-stress environments, ensuring robots can assist and not hinder human response efforts.