Adapting Robot's Explanation for Failures Based on Observed Human Behavior in Human-Robot Collaboration

Adapting Robot's Explanation for Failures Based on Observed Human Behavior in Human-Robot Collaboration Andreas Naoum 1, Parag Khanna 1, Elmira Y adollahi 2, M arten Bj orkman 1, and Christian Smith 1 Abstract -- This work aims to interpret human behavior to anticipate potential user confusion when a robot provides explanations for failure, allowing the robot to adapt its explanations for more natural and efficient collaboration. Using a dataset [1] that included facial emotion detection, eye gaze estimation, and gestures from 55 participants in a user study [2], we analyzed how human behavior changed in response to different types of failures and varying explanation levels. Our goal is to assess whether human collaborators are ready to accept less detailed explanations without inducing confusion. We formulate a data-driven predictor to predict human confusion during robot failure explanations. We also propose and evaluate a mechanism, based on the predictor, to adapt the explanation level according to observed human behavior . The promising results from this evaluation indicate the potential of this research in adapting a robot's explanations for failures to enhance the collaborative experience. I NTRODUCTION Recent advancements in robotics have enabled robots to collaborate with humans in a variety of tasks [3]. However, the uncertain nature of environments in which robots operate often leads to failures [4], [5]. In instances where robots encounter failures, human intervention in certain cases can easily troubleshoot the problem efficiently and effectively [2], [4], [6]. Therefore, a crucial aspect of this collaboration is the robot's ability to communicate when a failure occurs, explain why the failure happened, and, if possible, suggest a course of action for resolution. This communication ability is not only essential for successful collaboration but also for building rapport and trust [7], [8] in robots.