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arXiv · 2605.13380

Exploring Human-Robot Collaboration: Analysis of Interaction Modalities in Challenging Tasks

Simone Arreghini·Cristina Iani·Alessandro Giusti·Valeria Villani·Lorenzo Sabattini·Antonio Paolillo
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Abstract

This work compares three interaction modalities for human-robot collaboration: passive, reactive, and proactive. We studied 18 participants assembling a seven-layer colored tower from memory while using nearby and distant blocks. In the passive modality participants worked alone; in the reactive modality a mobile robot helped only upon request; in the proactive modality it initiated brick delivery and error signaling without explicit requests. Although robot assistance increased completion time, most participants preferred collaboration: 67% preferred proactive behavior and 78% judged it most useful. These results suggest that timely proactive support can improve user experience in controlled collaborative tasks.

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Simone Arreghini, Cristina Iani, Alessandro Giusti, Valeria Villani, Lorenzo Sabattini, Antonio Paolillo. 2026-05-13. Exploring Human-Robot Collaboration: Analysis of Interaction Modalities in Challenging Tasks. https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.13380

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