Emerging Trends in Cognitive Abilities and Their Impact on Human-Robot Collaboration: A Systematic Literature Review

Human-Robot Collaboration and Cognitive Robotics are two evolving fields that, while often explored separately, share common objectives in enhancing the intelligence, adaptability, and effectiveness of robotic systems within human-centric environments. Despite their shared objectives, their interrelation is not extensively explored in current literature. This systematic literature review examines the state of cognitive abilities in HRC, focusing on core functions such as perception, attention, action selection, memory, learning, and reasoning, along with the integration of social cognitive abilities. Analyzing 40 peer-reviewed studies, we found a predominant emphasis on core cognitive abilities, with social cognitive abilities significantly underrepresented, especially in industrial robotics contexts, see Figure 1. Additionally, there is a notable gap in human-centered assessment methodologies, where technical performance metrics overshadow critical human factors like user satisfaction, trust, and ergonomic considerations. Safety strategies in HRC reveal a disparity between theoretical advancements and practical implementations, highlighting the need for comprehensive safety frameworks that incorporate both physical and psychological aspects. Emerging human factors due to increased automation, such as automation bias and diminished sense of agency, further challenge effective human-robot interactions. This review emphasizes the necessity for interdisciplinary approaches and robust ethical frameworks to address these issues. Future research should evaluate the cost-benefit of developing higher-order cognitive abilities, translate insights from social robotics into industrial settings, adopt standardized human-centered evaluation methods, bridge the gap between safety theories and practice, and foster interdisciplinary collaborations to ensure the responsible integration of cognitive robotics into human-centric environments. Addressing these gaps will advance the development of intelligent, adaptive, and socially adept robotic systems that seamlessly integrate into diverse collaborative settings.