The keywords “Cognition”, and “Interaction” weave the texture of the TERAIS project research within the wider context of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence. Cognition is the process through which a system can perceive, learn, anticipate, act, and adapt, whereas Interaction, might it be physical, spatial, verbal, or even non-verbal, consists of reciprocal actions between two or more agents. The research aim of TERAIS is to develop robots following a human-centered approach and building upon three core pillars: Human Awareness, Explainability, and Trustworthiness. Human Awareness involves enabling robots to understand human internal states, intentions and perspectives. Explainability focuses on transparent cognitive architectures and neural networks to make artificial systems able to provide motivations for their own behaviour. Trustworthiness is the quality of a system acknowledged by a user for its reliability, competence, and care.