2022/03/15 by Wesley P. Chan, Chan, Wesley P, Maram Sakr +11
Computer Science · #Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts #Augmented Reality Applications
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2203.08343
We provide an experimental evaluation of a wearable augmented reality (AR)\nsystem we have developed for human-robot teams working on tasks requiring\ncollaboration in shared physical workspace. Recent advances in AR technology\nhave facilitated the development of more intuitive user interfaces for many\nhuman-robot interaction applications. While it has been anticipated that AR can\nprovided a more intuitive interface to robot assistants helping human workers\nin various manufacturing scenarios, existing studies in robotics have been\nlargely limited to teleoperation and programming. Industry 5.0 envisions\ncooperation between human and robot working in teams. Indeed, there exist many\nindustrial task that can benefit from human-robot collaboration. A prime\nexample is high-value composite manufacturing. Working with our industry\npartner towards this example application, we evaluated our AR interface design\nfor shared physical workspace collaboration in human-robot teams. We conducted\na multi-dimensional analysis of our interface using establish metrics. Results\nfrom our user study (n=26) show that subjectively, the AR interface feels more\nnovel and a standard joystick interface feels more dependable to users.\nHowever, the AR interface was found to reduce physical demand and task\ncompletion time, while increasing robot utilization. Furthermore, user's\nfreedom of choice to collaborate with the robot may also affect the perceived\nusability of the system.\n