Human Robot Collaboration

Lionel P. Robert Jr.

Professor 

School of Information 

Director of MAVRIC

Core Faculty, Michigan Robotics

University of Michigan

Welcome

By way of introduction, I am an Associate Professor in the School of Information (UMSI) at the University of Michigan and a core faculty member of Michigan Robotics (Robotics). I am the director of the Michigan Autonomous Vehicle Research Intergroup Collaboration (MAVRIC). I am also an affiliate of the Michigan Interactive and Social Computing (MISC) Research Group.

My research in the area of human-robot collaboration typically involves understanding how to facilitate more effective collaborations between humans and robots. Below you will find links to my two areas of study as they relate to human-robot collaborations along with several grants and funded research projects associated with both areas.

Robotics Research Areas

Area 1: Teamwork with Robots               

Area 2: Human-Autonomous Vehicle Interaction

Grants/Funding related to Human-Robot Collaboration

U.S. Army GVSC: Estimating & Calibrating Situation Awareness for Human-Robot Teaming, 2021-2023

($345,000 to $474,000) Co-PI with Dawn Tilbury. The objective of this research project is to develop methods for estimating and calibrating situational awareness in teams to optimize their overall performance.

U.S. Army GVSC: Situation Awareness & Trust Repair in Multi-Agent Human-Automation Teams, 2021-2023

($250,000 to 300,000) PI with Dawn Tilbury. The objective of this proposal is to identify the information needed to support SA and trust repair to avoid failure in multi-agent human-automation teams.

Army Research Laboratory (STRONG): Building Trust Across Dynamic, Heterogeneous Teams, 2021-2022 

($100,000) Co-PI with: PI Dawn Tilbury, The objective is to address the question: How do we provide the capability for agents to understand and evolve symbiotically with humans? In particular, we will consider the aspect of trust in a dynamic heterogeneous team.

Mcity: Standard Metrics for Measuring Takeover Performance in Highly Automated Driving, 2020-2021

($231,225) Co-PI with: PI Xi Jessie Yang, Dawn Tilbury, Feng Zhou and Lisa J. Molnar. The objective of this proposal is to develop a standard set of metrics for measuring takeover quality (and also, takeover performance).

AAA Foundation: Measuring and Predicting Drivers’ Takeover Readiness in Automated Driving, 2020-2021

($222,494) Co-PI with: PI Xi Jessie Yang, Dawn Tilbury, Feng Zhou and Lisa J. Molnar. The objective of this proposal is to develop computational models capable of predicting drivers’ takeover readiness by analyzing drivers' physiological data and external traffic in real-time. 

MCity: Predicting Drivers’ Takeover Readiness and Designing Adaptive In-Vehicle Alert System, 2018-2019

($300,000) Co-PI with: Xi Jessie Yang, Dawn Tilbury, Anuj K Pradhan and Feng Zhou. The objective of this proposal is to predict drivers’ takeover readiness and design an adaptive alert system. 

Toyota Research Institute (TRI): Examining the Impact of Implicit and Explicit AV Communications on Pedestrians’ Trust 2018-2019

($150,000) PI with Co-PIs: Dawn Tilbury, Anuj K Pradhan and Xi Jessie Yang. The objective of this proposal is to understand how implicit and explicit AV communications can facilitate pedestrians' trust in AVs.

ARC - U.S. Army TARDEC, Modeling Bi-directional Trust in Semi-Autonomy for Improved System Performance 2017-2019

($300,000) Co-PI with Dawn Tilbury. Terms of the agreement are: $100,000 per year renewable for up to 3 years. The objective of this proposal is to model mutual trust between the driver and autonomous vehicles in convoy operations.

Toyota Research Institute (TRI): Control and Trust between Drivers and Autonomous Vehicles, 2017

($100,000) PI with Co-PIs: Dawn Tilbury and Anuj K Pradhan. The objective of this proposal is to understand when a driver is likely to take control of an autonomous vehicle and when an autonomous vehicle should take control.

Mobility Transformation Center (MTC): Explanations & Expectations of Autonomous Vehicles, 2017-2018

($300,000) PI with Co-PIs: Dawn Tilbury and Anuj K Pradhan. The objective of this proposal is to understand driver’s expectation of their autonomous vehicle and the explanation their autonomous vehicle should provide to address the concerns of the driver.

U-M MCubed Project: Virtual Prototyping of Human-Robot Collaboration 2013-2015

($60,000) Co-PI along with Vineet Kamat and SangHyun Lee. Using virtual reality to prototype the design of robots to facilitate better human robot interactions.