A novel digital twins-driven mutual trust framework for human–robot collaborations

Trust plays an important role and significantly influences human–robot collaborations (HRC). However, most previous research on trust only emphasizes the human attitude toward robots. There needs more understanding of human uncertainties that may also cause disruptions of trust in collaborations. This paper presents a novel mutual trust framework to provide a relatable vision for future development in HRC from an integrated perspective via the integration of human and robotic digital twins. More specifically, a comprehensive review of current trust research in HRC is first provided, including trust factors and state-of-the-art trust models. Second, a novel human–robot mutual trust framework based on 5-layer digital twins models is introduced. The mutual trust framework highlights the interactions amongst modules of artificial intelligence, simulation, and operation, which can provide wide services in HRC (e.g., task allocation and motion planning). A case study of solving a path planning problem is exemplified to evaluate the performance of the proposed mutual trust framework. Compared with singular trust models, the proposed framework enables robotic systems with real-time response and adaptation to human behavior. Some limitations and future work of the mutual trust framework are elaborated in the end.