Consensus Building in Human-robot Co-learning via Bias Controlled Nonlinear Opinion Dynamics and Non-verbal Communication through Robotic Eyes

Consensus between humans and robots is crucial as robotic agents become more prevalent and deeply integrated into our daily lives. This integration presents both unprecedented opportunities and notable challenges for effective collaboration. However, the active guidance of human actions and their integration in co-learning processes, where humans and robots mutually learn from each other, remains under-explored. This article demonstrates how consensus between human and robot opinions can be established by modeling decision-making processes as non-linear opinion dynamics. We utilize dynamic bias as a control parameter to steer the robot's opinion toward consensus and employ visual cues via a robotic eye gaze to guide human decisions. These non-verbal cues communicate the robot's future intentions, gradually guiding human decisions to align with them. To design robot behavior for consensus, we integrate a human opinion observation algorithm with the robot's opinion formation, controlling its actions based on that formed opinion. Experiments with $51$ participants ($N=51$) in a two-choice decision-making task show that effective consensus and trust can be established in a human--robot co-learning setting by guiding human decisions through nonverbal robotic cues and using bias-controlled opinion dynamics to shape robot behavior. Finally, we provide detailed information on the perceived cognitive load and the behavior of robotic eyes based on user feedback and post-experiment interviews.

@article{kumar2025_2411.03581,
  title={ Consensus Building in Human-robot Co-learning via Bias Controlled Nonlinear Opinion Dynamics and Non-verbal Communication through Robotic Eyes },
  author={ Rajul Kumar and Adam Bhatti and Ningshi Yao },
  journal={arXiv preprint arXiv:2411.03581},
  year={ 2025 }
}