I n this article, we present a communication paradigm using a context-aware mixed-reality approach for instructing human workers when collaborating with robots. The main objective is to utilize the physical work environment as a canvas to communicate task-related instructions and robot intentions in the form of visual cues. A vision-based object-tracking algorithm is used to precisely determine the pose and state of physical objects in and around the workspace. A projection-mapping technique is employed to overlay visual cues on the tracked objects and the workspace. Simultaneous tracking and projection onto objects enable the system to provide just-in-time instructions for carrying out a procedural task. Additionally, the system can inform and warn humans about the intentions of the robot and the safety of the workspace. We hypothesized that using this system for executing a human-robot collaborative task will improve the overall performance of the team and provide a positive experience for the human partners. To test this hypothesis, we conducted an experiment involving human subjects and compared the performance (both objective and subjective) of the presented system with conventional forms of communication, namely, printed and mobile display instructions. We found that projecting visual cues By Ramsundar Kalpagam Ganesan, Yash K. Rathore, Heather M. Ross, and Heni Ben Amor Better Teaming Through Visual Cues ©istockphoto.com/NicoElNiNo How Projecting Imagery in a Workspace Can Improve Human-Robot Collaboration Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MRA.2018.2815655 Date of publication: 15 May 2018 1070-9932/18©2018IEEE june 2018 * IEEE ROBOTICS & AUTOMATION MAGAZINE * 59http://www.istockphoto.com/NicoElNiNo