Advances in human-robot interaction

Some of the dreams of robotic scientists are easily described: robots doing tedious housekeeping work, robots playing with the children, robots helping elderly people at home in their daily tasks, robots assisting in the therapy of patients in hospitals. Or the robotics laborer in a manufacturing hall augmenting the human's force, reach, and precision. Naturally these robots - whether they assist us at home or at work - should be instructed as effectively and intuitively as a human. The question is: will these robots remain dreams?