Functional near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a promising new tool for research in human-robot interaction (HRI). The use of NIRS in HRI has already been demonstrated both as a means for investigating brain activity during human-robot interactions, as well as in the development of brain-robot interfaces that passively monitor a person's cognitive state to adapt robots' behaviors accordingly. In this paper, we survey the utility of NIRS and its range of applications in HRI. We discuss both some exemplary applications as well as several pressing challenges to the deployment of NIRS in more realistic settings.
@inproceedings{straitscheutz14hriworkshop,
title={Building a literal bridge between robotics and neuroscience using functional near infrared spectroscopy},
author={Megan Strait and Matthias Scheutz},
year={2014},
booktitle={Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), Workshop on Bridging Robotics and Neuroscience},
url={https://hrilab.tufts.edu/publications/straitscheutz14hriworkshop.pdf}
}