Co-robots: The synergy of humans and robots operating as partners The confluence of engineering-based robotics and human-centered application domains

A new era of robotics research is being driven by pressing societal problems and creating a transformation in the way that we envision humanrobot interactions. In this chapter, we discuss three application domains that best capture both the promise and the challenges that this transformation has generated: the effort to build robots that support cognitive and social growth, robots that work in the home doing domestic tasks for users that have no training in robotics, and collaborative robots that work side-by-side to solve manufacturing and assembly tasks with human workers.