Studying Human-Human interaction to build the future of Human-Robot interaction

Understanding human-to-human sensorimotor interaction, in a way that can be predicted and controlled, is probably one of the greatest challenges for the future of Human-Computer Confluence (HCC). This would allow, for example, the possibility of optimizing group decision-making or brain storming efficacy. On the other hand it would also offer the means to naturally introduce artificial embodied systems into our social landscape. This vision sees robots or software that smoothly interface with our social representations and adapt dynamically to social contexts. The path to such vision requires at least three components. The first, driven by cogni- tive neuroscience, has to develop methods to measure the real-time information flow between interacting participants – in ecological scenarios. The second, shaped by the Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) field, consists in building the proper information flow between robots and humans. Finally, the third will have to see the convergence of robotics, neuroscience and psychology in order to functionally evaluate the reality of a long-term HCC.