Underwater Human-Robot and Human-Swarm Interaction: A Review and Perspective

There has been a growing interest in extending the capabilities of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) in subsea missions, particularly in integrating underwater human-robot interaction (UHRI) for control. UHRI and its subfield, underwater gesture recognition (UGR), play a significant role in enhancing diver-robot communication for marine research. This review explores the latest developments in UHRI and examines its promising applications for multi-robot systems. With the developments in UGR, opportunities are presented for underwater robots to work alongside human divers to increase their functionality. Human gestures creates a seamless and safe collaborative environment where divers and robots can interact more efficiently. By highlighting the state-of-the-art in this field, we can potentially encourage advancements in underwater multi-robot system (UMRS) blending the natural communication channels of human-robot interaction with the multi-faceted coordination capabilities of underwater swarms, thus enhancing robustness in complex aquatic environments.