Adapting Autonomous Behavior Based on an Estimate of an Operator's Trust

Robots can be added to human teams to provide improved capabilities or to perform tasks that humans are unsuited for. However, in order to get the full benefit of the robots the human teammates must use the robots in the appropriate situations. If the humans do not trust the robots, they may underutilize them or disuse them which could result in a failure to achieve team goals. We present a robot that is able to estimate its trustworthiness and adapt its behavior accordingly. This technique helps the robot remain trustworthy even when changes in context, task or teammates are possible.