Human-robot interaction plays an essentially important role in deployment of robotics systems in our daily life such as manufacturing, medicine, and domestic services. Traditional robotic systems, especially industrial robots, are mostly caged and isolated from humans to perform simple and repetitive tasks in well-structured environments. To expand the application scopes of robotics systems, that is, to bring robots out of cages, we have to investigate various human-robot interaction technologies from robot designs, sensing, and controls to human-robot interfaces, to ensure the safety and efficiency of human-robot collaboration. In recent years, in academia and industry, human-robot interaction has attracted a significant number of attentions. Many collaborative robots have been developed and deployed in real applications such as assembly, warehouses, and home services. Some new human-robot interaction models and algorithms have also been developed to resolve the emerging issues in human-robot collaboration.

In this special issue, we call for original research articles as well as review articles to address problems and issues in both conventional and emerging human-robot interaction fields.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Collaborative robotics design and development
• Safety in human-robot interaction
• Robot programming by demonstrations
• Sensing and perception in human-robot interaction
• Planning and control in human-robot interaction
• Learning and adaptation in human-robot interaction
• Human-robot interaction interfaces
• Other issues in human-robot interaction