This research explores how indirect speech acts can enhance human-robot collaboration in physical environments, enabling more natural interactions beyond explicit commands.

• Examines the potential for robots to interpret implicit requests ("Can you pass that tool?") vs explicit commands
• Leverages advances in large language models to improve pragmatic understanding in robots
• Investigates how indirect speech affects communication efficiency and human experience
• Provides framework for more intuitive human-robot interactions in collaborative settings

This research is significant for engineering teams developing collaborative robots, as it addresses a key barrier to natural human-robot teamwork in factory, construction, and support environments.

Can you pass that tool?: Implications of Indirect Speech in Physical Human-Robot Collaboration