Safe, Fluent and Acceptable Motion Generation and Execution for Human--Robot Interaction in Manufacturing Environments
Robots operating in human environments must not only ensure physical safety but also exhibit behaviors that are understandable, fluent, and acceptable to human partners. This paper investigates motion generation strategies that combine safety guarantees with interaction quality considerations, such as motion smoothness and human comfort. While the design of robots capable of ensuring safety in shared human-robot environments has enabled closer and more advanced forms of interaction, these new proximity-based tasks require moving beyond purely technical considerations. In particular, robot behavior must also be addressed from psycho-cognitive and social perspectives. In this context, we argue for the relevance of integrating social-aware motion control into robotic systems. First, we identify the motion parameters that influence human perception and operator experience. Then, we implement a Model Predictive Control (MPC) framework that generates four distinct socially-informed robot behaviors. Finally, we conduct a user study to evaluate and validate these behaviors and assess their social impact on non-expert participants. The results demonstrate that variations in robot behavior significantly affect the perceived social acceptability of the system. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating human-centered considerations into motion generation strategies for robots operating in shared environments.