Recognition in Human-Robot Interaction: The Gateway to Engagement

We argue that mutually adaptive interaction involves the robot as a partner as opposed to a tool, and requires that the robot is susceptible to similar environmental cues and behaviour patterns as humans are. Recognition, or the acknowledgement of the other as individual, is fundamental to mutually adaptive interaction. Recognition leads to a dynamic coupling of human and robot such that they become one system. This process has both cognitive and phenomenological aspects. The cognitive aspects concern perceptual identification and reciprocal validation, resulting in mutual expectations and entrainment. The phenomenological aspects relate to responsiveness and complementarity that lead to mutual engagement and commitment. We propose that mutual recognition is key to successful cooperation with robots and HRI would benefit from implementing recognition as a fundamental ability of any social robot.