Mixed-Initiative Human-Robot Interaction: Definition, Taxonomy, and Survey

The objectives of this article are: 1) to present a taxonomy for mixed-initiative human-robot interaction and 2) to survey its state of practice through the examination of past research along each taxonomical dimension. The paper starts with some definitions of mixed-initiative interaction (MII) from the perspective of human-computer interaction (HCI) to introduce the basic concepts of MII. We then synthesize these definitions to the robotic context for mixed-initiative human robot teams. A taxonomy for mixed-initiative in human-robot interaction is then presented. The goal of the taxonomy is to inform the design of mixed-initiative human-robot systems by identifying key elements of these systems. The state of practice of mixed-initiative human-robot interaction is then surveyed and examined along each taxonomical dimension.