The deployment of artificial agents and intelligent systems in the world of work is advancing. In the future, they will work with humans to provide services or manufacture products and they will also offer support in carrying out work-related tasks. To enable such collaboration, interactions with these machines must be adapted to the needs of humans. We are investigating how human-machine interaction is changing people's work activities and which conditions need to be taken into account in order to design human-machine interactions in a human-centred way.
Research projects
EASIER
Enabling and Assessing Trust when Cooperating with Robots in Disaster Response
The EASIER project aims to increase emergency personnel's trust in robots and reduce cognitive load during interactions. The project develops innovative methods to measure trust in robotic systems and the cognitive load they cause. It examines the impact of possible interventions in (1) the design of the user interface for input and output, (2) the degree of autonomy, and the (3) transparency of the robot's decisions.
An interdisciplinary team consisting of psychologists, visualization experts, roboticists, and task forces works together on this project. The practical benefits of the generated knowledge is evaluated in realistic field tests with emergency personnel.
Duration: 11/2019 – 12/2023
Funding: Österreichische Forschungsgesellschaft (FFG)
Principal investigator: Univ.-Prof. MMag. Dr. Bettina Kubicek
PhD student: Mag. Clemens Könczöl
Cooperation partners:
Assoz.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Gerald Steinbauer (Konsortialführung; Institute of Software Technology)
Assoz.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Denis Kalkofen (Institute of Computer Graphics and Vision)
DCNA Disaster Competence Network Austria
Berufsfeuerwehr Graz
Rosenbauer International AG
Trust me: Trust in humanoid robots within the work context
Robots have been introduced into industrial working environments decades ago to execute tasks that were impossible or unreasonable for human workers. Robots are lifting heavy objects, do repetitious factory tasks and work under dangerous conditions. Due to technical advances, robots are evolving from specialized tools to independent agents, who can work together in collaboration with human employees. As robots and humans will increasingly work side by side, a theoretical ground for successful human-robot-collaboration is needed.
Considering human teams, it has been shown that trust is an important variable that defines the success of a collaboration. If a team consists of both humans and robots, an adaptation of the interpersonal trust term is needed.
Our project aims for a clearer view on how humans can trust a robot in the work environment and how they can work together successfully. To reach that goal, we will collaborate with humanoid robot Pepper (Softbank Robotics).
Our main research questions concern the following topics:
1. What does trust mean in the context of human-robot collaboration?
2. How can we measure and operationalize trust in human-robot collaboration?
3. Which factors influence trust in human-robot collaboration?
We plan on answering these questions through theoretical works and empirical studies.
Duration: 11/2019 – 11/2023
Funding: PBB Smart Regulation
Project leadership: Univ.-Prof. MMag. Dr. Bettina Kubicek
Doctoral candidate: Agnes Altmanninger, BSc. MSc.
Cooperation partners:
Univ. Prof. DDr. Reinhold Esterbauer (Institut für Philosophie an der Katholisch-Theologischen Fakultät)
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Katja Corcoran (Arbeitsbereich Sozialpsychologie)
Ass.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Hans-Walter Ruckenbauer (Institut für Philosophie an der Katholisch-Theologischen Fakultät)
The A-KI-A Project
The effects of AI-supported systems on work design
So far projects and research about artificial intelligence (AI) at work focus mainly on ethical and legal aspects such as responsibility, data protection or trust and usually on gig work. The effects of AI on work design in classical traditional jobs has mainly been overlooked. In this project, we want to investigate the potential positive and negative effects of AI on key work characteristics of knowledge workers. In addition, we want to examine to what extent personal skills support employees in dealing with AI.
Based on the results of the project and planned discussion with experts and employee representatives, recommendations for the humane design of working with AI systems and for training opportunities will be derived and prepared in the form of a manual. The aim of the manual is to illustrate how work and thus also the employees are influenced by the use of AI technology. The manual can also inform policy decision-makers about the potential impact of AI technology on work design and provide guidance on how to regulate and ensure safe, healthy and meaningful work.
Duration: 03/2023 - 10/2024
Funding: "Work 4.0" project fund of the Vienna Chamber of Labor
Project head: Univ.-Prof. MMag. Dr. Bettina Kubicek
Project staff: Dr. Sabina Hodzic und Arndt Schäfer, M.Sc.
Cooperation partners: Institute of Management Science (IMW), TU Wien; GPA Union Vienna - Labor and Technology Department