03 November 2025
Robot swarms are collectives of robots that react to their local environment through simple local rules, producing emergent behaviours that exceed the capabilities of individual agents. One of the key challenges hindering real-world adoption is the limited understanding of how the public perceives and accepts robot swarms. Trust plays a critical role in human–robot interaction, shaping users’ willingness to engage with and rely on autonomous systems. A lack of trust can result in rejection or disengagement, undermining system effectiveness.
In this work, EMERGE partners from the University of Bristol examine
how swarm motion affects the trust of novice users in a service-oriented
swarm, using an automated cloakroom as a test case. The authors
conducted 20 human trials, where participants interacted with a swarm
exhibiting either structured (grid-like) or organic (adaptive) motion,
with performance controlled across conditions. Trust and perception were
assessed via self-reporting questionnaires and eye-tracking data.
Results indicate that performance and reliability, rather than motion,
are the key drivers of trust. However, motion influenced perceived
predictability, highlighting its role in designing transparent and
user-friendly swarm systems.
Read the paper in the link below.
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