Lessons Learned from Human-Robotic Interactions on the Ground and in the Air

Unmanned or, more specifically, remotely-operated vehicles have contributed to the changing nature of warfare, and have taken center stage for civilian applications ranging from broader security and monitoring of wild fires, to search and rescue, and in surveillance of disaster locations. Technological advances now make it possible for soldiers to use (unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) to fight the enemy in the Middle East from a trailer in Nevada (Moran & Morris, 2006). It also makes it possible for search efforts to proceed in places too difficult for humans to enter, such as the Katrina-ravaged neighborhoods or the ruins of the World Trade Center, through the use of rescue robots (Murphy, 2004a, 2004b). These robotic vehicles have taken humans out of harm’s way in situations known to be “dull, dirty, or dangerous.”