An Investigation of Human Decision-Making in a Human—Robot Team Task

Abstract

This paper presents initial insights from an exploratory analysis of human decision making in a human—robot teaming scenario. A cognitive model in the form of a decision tree was developed using local and national police foot pursuit protocols. Participants were asked to read through a series of hypothetical scenarios involving a Soldier and a robot engaging in a foot pursuit of a person of interest. Participants made decisions at each node of the decision tree and then a tactical decision concerning which member of the team should engage in the pursuit. Initial results revealed that individual decision nodes were not associated with participants’ choice in who should engage in the pursuit. Trust in robots, however, was significantly associated with the participants’ choices.