#Human-robot interaction (12)

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Navigating the Crowd: Non-linear MPC with Social Forces Dynamics for Human-Aware Robot Navigation

Safe and socially compliant navigation remains a fundamental challenge for autonomous robots operating in human-populated environments. Beyond collision avoidance, robots must anticipate human motion and respect personal space to ensure human comfort. Model Predictive Control (MPC) offers a robust alternative to classical and data-driven methods, although its effectiveness strongly depends on accurate human motion prediction and efficient computation. This paper introduces SFM-NMPC, a Social Force Model-based Non-linear Model Predictive Control framework that embeds human motion prediction directly within the optimization loop. By incorporating the Social Force Model into the dynamic model of surrounding agents, the controller jointly predicts the trajectories of humans and robots over the prediction horizon, thereby enabling socially-aware planning. A tailored set of social cost functions guides the optimization toward human-compliant behaviors. Despite the increased model complexity, the proposed formulation runs in real time at 20 Hz. Extensive simulated testing in crowded environments demonstrates that SFM-NMPC outperforms state-of-the-art baselines in social compliance metrics while maintaining efficient and smooth navigation. Visual trajectory analysis and an ablation study further highlight the contribution of the embedded SFM dynamics and social cost terms, confirming the effectiveness of the proposed approach for real-world social navigation.

Stefano Trepella, Andrea Ostuni, Mauro MartiniJul 11, 2026

Robot navigationSocial Navigationmodel predictive controlJul 11, 2026

AR Visualization Improves Teleoperation for Contact-Rich Manipulation

Study proposes AR visualization of impedance targets for force feedback without haptics. Dual-arm test shows 24% time reduction in force-critical tasks.

Gijs van den Brandt, Femke van Beek, Elena TortaMar 26, 2026

TeleoperationARDual-ArmMar 26, 2026

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AR impedance visualization aids contact-rich teleoperation

@rsasaki0109 · 100 views · 2026-08-25

TeleoperationImpedance ControlAugmented Reality

Ludi₀.₁: An Agentic System for Socially Intelligent Robots

Ludo Robotics presents Ludi₀.₁, their first agentic system integrating perception, navigation, and manipulation with interactive speech, dialogue, memory, and social reasoning — powered by a fine-tuned Qwen3.5 VLM, GR00T VLA policies, and KISS-ICP navigation.

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agentic systemLudo RoboticsVLMNVIDIA GR00TQwen3.5