The advent of Industry 4.0 has heralded advancements in Human–robot Collaboration (HRC), necessitating a deeper understanding of the factors influencing human decision making within this domain. This scoping review examines the breadth of research conducted on HRC, with a particular focus on identifying factors that affect human decision making during collaborative tasks and finding potential solutions to improve human decision making. We conducted a comprehensive search across databases including Scopus, IEEE Xplore and ACM Digital Library, employing a snowballing technique to ensure the inclusion of all pertinent studies, and adopting the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) for the reviewing process. Some of the important aspects were identified: (i) studies’ design and setting; (ii) types of human–robot interaction, types of cobots and types of tasks; (iii) factors related to human decision making; and (iv) types of user interfaces for human–robot interaction. Results indicate that cognitive workload and user interface are key in influencing decision making in HRC. Future research should consider social dynamics and psychological safety, use mixed methods for deeper insights and consider diverse cobots and tasks to expand decision-making studies. Emerging XR technologies offer the potential to enhance interaction and thus improve decision making, underscoring the need for intuitive communication and human-centred design.

This scoping review explores human factors that enrich the design of Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC) beyond the traditional focus on ergonomics and safety. As Industry 5.0 shifts towards a human-centric perspective, understanding the multifaceted interactions within socio-technical systems becomes crucial. The review investigates diverse fields, including design, psychology, and engineering, to identify human factors influencing the successful integration of Collaborative Robotics. The research findings confirm the need and potentiality of using the holistic lens of human factors to illuminate human-centric needs in HRC designs. Moving beyond quantitative measures, the study advocates for qualitative insights to inform the design of HRC and enhance worker conditions through individualised and contextualised experiences of collaborating with cobots. The findings contribute to advancing the understanding of HRC’s complexity and underscore the significance of user-driven perspectives in future research and design efforts.

There is growing awareness that the future of robotics is a collaborative one. Although rapid technological advancements are driving the development and maturation of robotics platforms across a range of domains, the methods by which people work with these platforms remains a largely open question. Unpacking this solution requires a multifaceted approach with key contributions from diverse fields and disciplines including user modelling, adaptive interfaces, persistent communication, interaction design, human factors, and situational awareness. This workshop intends to discuss the opportunities, threats, and future of collaborative robotics. We invite researchers and practitioners in Human-Computer Interaction, Robotics and Engineering, Ethics, Psychology, Social Sciences, Design, Architecture, and Artificial Intelligence, who work actively or wish to expand their knowledge to discuss the requirements for next-generation human-robot collaboration, and synthesise a path towards the future where people and robots work hand in hand.