Evaluation of mental stress in human-robot interaction: an explorative study

The emerging concept of Industry 5.0 has led industries to design industrial environments integrating robots to support human work. The impact of implementing human-robot interaction (HRI) on humans and the work-related stress linked to it is still an open issue. In this context, measuring mental stress is crucial for designing effective HRI environments. This study aims to experimentally test the influence of the robot's presence on mental stress by measuring humans' performance, physiological data, and workload perception. Sixty participants were asked to perform an assembly task while coexisting with a robot. Three scenarios were tested, changing the kind of task performed by the robot and the distance from the participants' working area. Statistical analyses were performed to capture the differences between scenarios. Results show that the robot's presence does not significantly affect the participants' stress levels. However, when the distance to the robot decreases, human performance is affected, concluding that the robot's proximity could cause more distraction to human workers.