Electrifying Obstacle Avoidance: Enhancing Teleoperation of Robots with EMS-Assisted Obstacle Avoidance

Ambika Shahu, Khaled Kassem, Leonhard Zehetgruber, Philipp Wintersberger, Florian Michahelles

Publikation: Beitrag in Buch/Bericht/TagungsbandKonferenzbeitragBegutachtung

Abstract

We investigate how the use of haptic feedback through electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) can improve collision-avoidance in a robot teleoperation scenario. Background: Collision-free robot teleoperation requires extensive situation awareness by the operator. This is difficult to achieve purely visually when obstacles can exist outside of the robot's field of view. Therefore, feedback from other sensory channels can be beneficial. Method: We compare feedback modalities in the form of auditory, haptic and bi-modal feedback, notifying users about incoming obstacles outside their field of view, and moving their arms in the direction to avoid the obstacle. We evaluate the different feedback modalities alongside a unimodal visual feedback baseline in a user study (N=9), where participants are controlling a robotic arm in a virtual reality environment. We measure objective performance metrics in terms of the number of collisions and errors, as well as subjective user feedback using the NASA-TLX and the short version of the User Experience Questionnaire. Findings: Unimodal EMS and bi-modal feedback outperformed the baseline and unimodal auditory feedback when it comes to hedonic user experience (p<.001). EMS outperformed the baseline with regards to pragmatic user experience (p=.018). We did not detect significant differences in the performance metrics (collisions and errors). We measured a strong learning effect when investigating the collision count and time. Key insights: The use of EMS is promising for this task. Two of the nine participants reported to experience some level of discomfort. The modality is best utilized for nudging rather than extended movement.

OriginalspracheEnglisch
TitelHHAI 2023
UntertitelAugmenting Human Intellect - Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Hybrid Human-Artificial Intelligence
Redakteure/-innenPaul Lukowicz, Sven Mayer, Janin Koch, John Shawe-Taylor, Ilaria Tiddi
Herausgeber (Verlag)IOS Press BV
Seiten224-233
Seitenumfang10
ISBN (elektronisch)9781643683942
DOIs
PublikationsstatusVeröffentlicht - 22 Juni 2023
Veranstaltung2nd International Conference on Hybrid Human-Artificial Intelligence, HHAI 2023 - Munich, Deutschland
Dauer: 26 Juni 202330 Juni 2023

Publikationsreihe

NameFrontiers in Artificial Intelligence and Applications
Band368
ISSN (Print)0922-6389
ISSN (elektronisch)1879-8314

Konferenz

Konferenz2nd International Conference on Hybrid Human-Artificial Intelligence, HHAI 2023
Land/GebietDeutschland
OrtMunich
Zeitraum26.06.202330.06.2023

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