Trust in Human–Robot Interaction: Reflections from Shared Autonomy and Real-World Deployments

Speaker: Dr Ayse Kucukyilmaz (University of Nottingham) Date: Sep 18th Friday, 1-2PM. Abstract: Trust is widely recognised as a key enabler of safe and effective human–robot interaction, yet it cannot be designed in isolation. Rather, trust emerges through the way robots behave, communicate, respond to failures, and collaborate with people. In this talk, I will reflect on trust from the perspective of my research in human-centred robotics, drawing on examples from shared autonomy, teleoperation, robot failure recovery, and public robot deployments. I will discuss how interaction design influences people's confidence in robotic systems, how failures can reveal important limitations in robot behaviour, and what we can learn from deploying robots beyond controlled laboratory settings. Examples from collaborative manipulation, high-stakes teleoperation, and creative public installations will illustrate the challenges of designing robotic systems that are understandable, dependable, and acceptable to users.