Computational Approaches to Cognition Alignment in Human-Robot Teaming for Improved Collaborative Performance: A Survey

PhD Qualifying Examination


Title: "Computational Approaches to Cognition Alignment in Human-Robot 
Teaming for Improved Collaborative Performance: A Survey"

by

Miss Ziqi PAN


Abstract:

Robots are increasingly taking on collaborative roles across a diverse range 
of human activities. This emerging partnership, defined as Human-Robot 
Teaming (HRT), presents more challenges to teamwork beyond human teams. 
Research has modeled approaches to enhance Human-Robot Teaming (HRT) 
performance by distributing optimized factors within the 
Input-Mediator-Outcome (I-M-O) framework. This framework identifies team and 
task traits (I), applies methods to leverage these traits (M), and aims for 
better collaborative performance (O). Cognition alignment, which focuses on 
leveraging humans' and robots' cognitive intelligence, is remarkable among 
the various existing strategies. In this survey, we focus on aligning 
cognition between humans and robots to enhance the collaborative performance 
of HRT. We first review the literature, identify key metrics of 
collaborative performance, and categorize them as human recognition, 
performance and load, as-a-team performance, and within-team dynamics. Then, 
we summarize and analyze recent advancements in computational approaches to 
cognition alignment based on the I and Ms. We first examine the strengths 
and weaknesses of different approaches and then discuss their contribution 
regarding the aforementioned types of collaborative performance metrics in 
HRT. Finally, based on the findings and discussion, we propose emerging 
trends and future directions for cognition alignment to enhance 
collaborative performance in HRT.


Date:                   Monday, 10 March 2025

Time:                   3:00pm - 5:00pm

Venue:                  Room 4472
                        Lifts 25/26

Committee Members:      Dr. Xiaojuan Ma (Supervisor)
                        Prof. Qiong Luo (Chairperson)
                        Dr. Tristan Braud