Observation of Human Trajectory in Response to Haptic Feedback from Mobile Robot

Abstract

The coupled movement of humans and robots is an integral aspect of human-robot cooperation. However, while extensive research has been conducted on robot movement, research on human movement in collaboration with robot movement is relatively rare. In this study, we performed an experiment to analyze the walking trajectory of a blindfolded participant receiving haptic feedback from a mobile robot. For this experiment, we employed a mobile robot system equipped with a haptic device. In order to observe the effects of haptic feedback on human and robot movements, we generated appropriate haptic feedback that can guide humans to the desired path. The experiment was performed in a laboratory environment equipped with a motion capture system in order to analyze the participant's walking trajectory when the appropriate haptic feedback was provided. We also compared the effects of haptic feedback on the human trajectory at large and small turning angles. The findings of this research indicate that human movement can be controlled though provision of appropriate haptic instruction by mobile robots.