Human-Robot Partnership: An Overarching Consideration for Interaction and Collaboration

The construction industry is looking at automation and robotization to enhance productivity and reduce the safety risks of various tasks during the construction, operations and maintenance (O&M) phases. In that context, human-robot interaction (HRI) and human-robot collaboration (HRC) are highly relevant. Although those terms are different, there is some misconception, and, in some cases, they have been used interchangeably. To address that, this study clarifies the meanings of each. We collected the existing explanations, reviewed the keywords, and completed a literature review of HRI and HRC applications in construction and O&M, and included definitions for HRI and HRC in the context of construction and O&M needs. Based on the review, we summarized the key elements to differentiate HRI and HRC and promote the concept of human-robot partnership (HRP) as a potential solution to overcome the identified limitations seen from pure HRI and HRC literature, followed by the future directions of HRP applications proposed for construction and O&M activities and needs.