Trust and Human Autonomy after Cobot Failures: Communication is Key for Industry 5.0

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Glawe, Felix, Kremer, Laura, Vervier, Luisa, Brauner, Philipp, Ziefle, Martina
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Glawe, Felix
Kremer, Laura
Vervier, Luisa
Brauner, Philipp
Ziefle, Martina
author_facet Glawe, Felix
Kremer, Laura
Vervier, Luisa
Brauner, Philipp
Ziefle, Martina
contents Collaborative robots (cobots) are a core technology of Industry 4.0. Industry 4.0 uses cyber-physical systems, IoT and smart automation to improve efficiency and data-driven decision-making. Cobots, as cyber-physical systems, enable the introduction of lightweight automation to smaller companies through their flexibility, low cost and ability to work alongside humans, while keeping humans and their skills in the loop. Industry 5.0, the evolution of Industry 4.0, places the worker at the centre of its principles: The physical and mental well-being of the worker is the main goal of new technology design, not just productivity, efficiency and safety standards. Within this concept, human trust in cobots and human autonomy are important. While trust is essential for effective and smooth interaction, the workers' perception of autonomy is key to intrinsic motivation and overall well-being. As failures are an inevitable part of technological systems, this study aims to answer the question of how system failures affect trust in cobots as well as human autonomy, and how they can be recovered afterwards. Therefore, a VR experiment (n = 39) was set up to investigate the influence of a cobot failure and its severity on human autonomy and trust in the cobot. Furthermore, the influence of transparent communication about the failure and next steps was investigated. The results show that both trust and autonomy suffer after cobot failures, with the severity of the failure having a stronger negative impact on trust, but not on autonomy. Both trust and autonomy can be partially restored by transparent communication.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_22298
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Trust and Human Autonomy after Cobot Failures: Communication is Key for Industry 5.0
Glawe, Felix
Kremer, Laura
Vervier, Luisa
Brauner, Philipp
Ziefle, Martina
Human-Computer Interaction
Robotics
Collaborative robots (cobots) are a core technology of Industry 4.0. Industry 4.0 uses cyber-physical systems, IoT and smart automation to improve efficiency and data-driven decision-making. Cobots, as cyber-physical systems, enable the introduction of lightweight automation to smaller companies through their flexibility, low cost and ability to work alongside humans, while keeping humans and their skills in the loop. Industry 5.0, the evolution of Industry 4.0, places the worker at the centre of its principles: The physical and mental well-being of the worker is the main goal of new technology design, not just productivity, efficiency and safety standards. Within this concept, human trust in cobots and human autonomy are important. While trust is essential for effective and smooth interaction, the workers' perception of autonomy is key to intrinsic motivation and overall well-being. As failures are an inevitable part of technological systems, this study aims to answer the question of how system failures affect trust in cobots as well as human autonomy, and how they can be recovered afterwards. Therefore, a VR experiment (n = 39) was set up to investigate the influence of a cobot failure and its severity on human autonomy and trust in the cobot. Furthermore, the influence of transparent communication about the failure and next steps was investigated. The results show that both trust and autonomy suffer after cobot failures, with the severity of the failure having a stronger negative impact on trust, but not on autonomy. Both trust and autonomy can be partially restored by transparent communication.
title Trust and Human Autonomy after Cobot Failures: Communication is Key for Industry 5.0
topic Human-Computer Interaction
Robotics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.22298