What Is HRI Design?
The Moment Everything Changed
Consider a greeting robot that approaches a customer. The customer steps aside, but the robot interprets the movement as a new position to follow. The customer steps aside again, and the robot follows again. Nothing has mechanically failed, yet the interaction has become uncomfortable because the system has no socially appropriate stopping rule.
The navigation system may be operating as specified and the greeting script may be clear. What remains undesigned is the space between them.
That gap between what a machine can do and how a human experiences it is a central concern of Human-Robot Interaction (HRI). HRI draws from robotics, human factors, psychology, design, and related disciplines to study and shape how people and robots interact.
References3 selected references · updated Aug 9, 2026
These references support the lesson’s definition of HRI, the role of embodiment and social interaction, and the distinction between predictable and legible robot motion. Product examples are design analyses, not evidence of universal user behavior.
- 01Human–Robot Interaction: A SurveyPeer-reviewed research
Michael A. Goodrich and Alan C. Schultz · 2007 · Foundations and Trends in Human–Computer Interaction
Supports: The scope of HRI, autonomy, communication, shared context, and evaluation challenges.
- 02A Survey of Socially Interactive RobotsPeer-reviewed research
Terrence Fong, Illah Nourbakhsh, and Kerstin Dautenhahn · 2003 · Robotics and Autonomous Systems
Supports: Social embodiment, interaction design, and the use of social cues in robotics.
- 03Legibility and Predictability of Robot MotionPeer-reviewed research
Anca D. Dragan, Kenton C. T. Lee, and Siddhartha S. Srinivasa · 2013 · ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction
Supports: The distinction between motion that matches expectations and motion that communicates its goal.