Assessing workload in human-robot peer-based teams

The effect of a robotic teammate on a human partner´s workload has not been fully quantified. Prior research found that human participants experienced lower workload when working with a robotic partner than when working with a human partner. An evaluation investigated whether a similar trend in workload exists for tasks requiring direct and collaborative interaction between the partners, and joint team decision-making. The subjective results indicate a similar trend to the prior results; participants rated workload lower for the more complex task when partnered with a robot than when partnered with a human.