Review on existing VR/AR solutions in human–robot collaboration

During the last decades, there has been wide interest towards creating more agile and reconfigurable automation systems. This includes the research interest towards human–robot collaboration (HRC) solutions, where semi or fully automated process could be combined with human dexterity and flexibility without complexity and inflexibility. However, the communication between the human and the robot is not intuitive, fast or flexible yet. The emerging technologies such as Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and Mixed Reality (XR) are seen as good solution candidates for increasing the communication between human and the machine during the design, commission and operation phases. The design of the HRC system includes layout design evaluation, task scenario analysis, robot programming, cycle time calculations, and safety analysis. Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality technologies provide immersive experiences to visualize and analyze these procedures. This paper aims to review the current status of virtual and augmented reality solutions in HRC with meta-analysis and highlight missing elements. Finally, future research directions and requirements are presented.