Chapter 3 - Fundamentals of proactive human–robot collaboration

HRC plays a crucial role in smart manufacturing, addressing the demanding requirements of human-centricity, sustainability, and resilience. However, current HRC development tends to adopt either a human- or robot-dominant approach, wherein human and robotic agents reactively execute tasks based on predefined instructions. This falls short of achieving efficient integration between robotic automation and human cognition. These rigid human–robot relationships are ill-suited for intricate manufacturing tasks and do not alleviate the physical and psychological burdens on human operators. In response to these practical needs, this chapter presents our perspective on the foreseeable trend, concept, systematic framework, and enabling technologies of Proactive HRC for future manufacturing. The evolution of the human–robot symbiotic relationship is characterized by 5C intelligence, progressing from Connection, Coordination, Cyber, and Cognition to Coevolution. Ultimately, it culminates in mutual-cognitive, predictable, and self-organizing intelligent capabilities encapsulated in Proactive HRC. With proactive robot control, multiple human and robotic agents collaborate seamlessly in manufacturing tasks, taking into account each other's operational requirements, resource preferences, and complementary capabilities. This framework is envisioned to stimulate open discussions and provide valuable insights to both academic researchers and industrial practitioners as they explore the realm of flexible human–robot production.