Human Acceptance As Part of the Soft Robot Design

As machines and robots become a increasingly larger part of society, it is important that they are fully accepted. If the machines are not utilized as intended, it is not only a waste of time and energy, but also of valuable resources. This acceptance by humans of robots is based on how well the interaction with robots is trusted. Trust of robots can be based on three approaches: physical safety, operational understanding, and the social aspect of training. It is important to also consider these aspects when designing machines that will interact with humans, since acceptance by the people is key for the correct utilization of the machines. A possible approach to solve the issues around trust are soft robots. These machines are adaptable to a situation by either a physical flexibility or a digital anticipation due to sensing and control. This adaptiveness to humans in different ways makes Soft Robotics easier to accept then regular rigid machines. With their reduced or prevented effect if collided with humans they are safer. Because of the reduced operational complexity and digital simulations they are therefore easier to understand. Training becomes also easier as operator can experience the flexible nature of soft material themselves as well have augmented reality or virtual reality to assist them in training and operating. All these benefits of Soft Robotics will eventually lead to better acceptance of robots and should therefore be taken into account when designing robots to enable a flourishing automatized society.