REX: Designing User-centered Repair and Explanations to Address Robot Failures

Figure 1: In this work, we explore how robots might handle conflicts with user requests through automated repair and explanation (REX) strategies.Left: In this scenario, the user returns from grocery shopping and requests the robot to move the groceries to the kitchen counter.Middle: Upon execution, the robot detects that another member of the household previously requested nothing to be placed on the kitchen counter, and deliberately takes an alternative action to repair the conflict.Right: Encountering the unexpected outcomes of the robot's action, the user is left confused and asks the robot to explain its action.In this work, we aim to understand how automated repair and explanations for robots should be designed to improve user experience with robot failures.