The wide interest of research and industry in the human–robot interaction (HRI) related topics is proportional to the increased productivity and flexibility of the production lines, as it combines human and robot capabilities. This paper presents a review of recent research and progress on HRI, related to task planning/coordination and programming with emphasis on the manufacturing/production environment. Human–robot task allocation and scheduling, metrics for HRI, as well as the social aspects are reviewed. The role of digital human modelling systems for human–robot task planning related issues is also discussed. The process of learning by demonstration as well as the instructive systems is reviewed, focussing mainly on programming through visual guidance and imitation, voice commands and haptic interaction. The aspect of physical HRI as well as the safety related issues are also discussed. Additionally, a survey on multimodal communication frameworks is presented. Challenges encountered and directions for future research are discussed.

This is a study of a Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC) framework for the execution of collaborative tasks in hybrid assembly cells. Robots and humans coexist in the same cell and share tasks according to their capabilities. An intelligent decision-making method that allows human-robot task allocation is proposed and is integrated within a Robot Operating System (ROS) framework. The proposed method enables the allocation of sequential tasks assigned to a robot and a human in separate workspaces. The focus is rather given to the human–robot coexistence for the execution of sequential tasks, in order for the automation level in manual or even hybrid assembly lines to be increased. Body gestures are the means of a human’s interaction with a robot for commanding and guiding reasons. The proposed framework is implemented into a case coming from the manual assembly lines of an automotive industry. A preliminary design of a hybrid assembly cell is presented, focusing on the assembly of a hydraulic pump by robots and humans.