Improving Human-Robot Interaction through Interface Evolution

Abstract

Through our iterative design and testing process, we succeeded in providing a useful surroundings awareness panel that displays accurate data to the user in an easy-to-interpret manner. In the testing for Version 3, the current distance panel was proven to provide faster run times, with fewer collisions than the previous two versions. Our results support the usefulness of the guidelines we followed in the creation of the interface. For example, we fused sensor information to lower the cognitive load on the user. Having the laser and sonar sensor values being displayed in the same distance panel provided users a single interface through which to access distance information. Through an iterative process, we gradually improved the distance panel. This panel rotates when the operator pans the camera, which allows the user to line up the obstacle they see in the video with where it is represented in the distance panel, to help reduce cognitive load. The distance panel also functions as a camera pan indicator. To provide redundant cueing in a location where operators will be naturally focused much of the time, crosshairs are overlaid on the video screen to show the current pan/tilt position of the main camera.