Human Interaction with Assistive Free-Flyers

Human Interaction with Assistive Free-Flyers
Daniel J. Szafir
Department of Computer Sciences
University of Wisconsin–Madison
1210 West Dayton Street
Madison, WI 53706 USA
dszafir@cs.wisc.edu
ABSTRACT
Free-flying robots represent a novel platform that appears
uniquely suited to assist humans in exploratory, surveillance,
inspection, and telepresence tasks across a variety of domains. Such tasks will require “assistive free-flyers” (AFFs),
embodied as micro air vehicles (MAVs), robotic blimps, or
space robots, to effectively interact with humans in close
proximity. I propose an investigation into the design space
of proximal AFF interactions, specifically by examining how
AFFs might effectively communicate with colocated humans
as well as gain an understanding regarding the ecological fit
of AFFs within human workspaces. This research takes a
two-phase approach towards examining proximal AFF interactions: (1) examining AFF communication mechanisms
including motion, body language, and electronic signals, and
(2) developing an understanding of user mental models and
social expectations for flying robots, including an examination of spontaneous AFF interactions. My work will inform
the design of future AFF systems and aid in understandings
regarding how AFFs can reach their potential as collaborators within human environments.
1.
INTRODUCTION
Small free-flying robots hold great potential due to their
unique abilities to freely traverse and survey environments.
We term these robots, represented in the growing body of
research on micro air vehicles (MAVs), robotic airships, and
assistive space robots, “assistive free-flyers” (AFFs). AFFs
are envisioned to provide aid in domains including construction, utilities, search-and-rescue, and space by performing
inspection, mapping, telepresence, and delivery tasks.
Due to the assistive nature of these tasks, AFFs will require much greater collaboration and colocated interaction
with humans. For example, NASA is currently developing
an AFF called “Smart SPHERES,” which is designed to be
used inside spacecraft (e.g., the International Space Station)
when humans are present to perform a variety of mobile
sensing tasks including environmental monitoring (e.g., air
quality, radiation, sound levels), autonomous logistics management (e.g., inventory), and mobile camera work to support astronaut activities and payload experiments [3].
Designers must account for human perceptions of AFFs to
enable flyers such as the Smart SPHERES to successfully integrate into workflows in human environments. My research
explores how AFFs might better communicate their state,
intentions, capabilities, tasks, and roles to nearby peers, how
local users will relate to flying robots, and how to use these
understandings to improve collaborative outcomes for proximal AFF interactions.
Figure 1: Assistive free-flying robots are increasingly prevalent
in human environments (pictured: NASA SPHERES, Parrot AR
Drone 2.0, Autonomous Light Air Vessel, DJI Phantom, Project
Skye). This work proposes an in-depth exploration of the many
factors influencing proxemic human-free-flyer.
2.
RESEARCH PLAN
My research uses two phases to analyze proximal human interactions with AFFs. The first phase consists of a series of
studies to examine how AFFs can effectively communicate
with colocated peers using mechanisms including flight motions, embodied gestures, and electronic signals. In the second phase, I analyze local users’ perceptions and responses
to proximal AFFs by examining expected social norms for
flying robots and instinctual responses towards AFFs working in human environments.
2.1
Communication for Proximal Interactions
AFFs must communicate their intentions, state, and roles
to colocated peers to effectively work and collaborate. Misunderstandings regarding AFF communication may damage
human-robot rapport, prove detrimental to task efficiency,
and may even be dangerous for the human collaborator. The
goal of this phase is to examine the communicative affordances of several AFF communication channels within the
context of proximal AFF interactions.
Study 1: Flight and Intent (Completed): In this study
[7], I sought to explore how designers might improve AFF
motions to more effectively communicate intent. I first analyzed the motion design space by deconstructing high-level
AFF flight paths into composite primitives, such as hovering, approaching a person, or departing an object. Drawing
inspiration from computer animation research on creating
natural motion, I developed several parameterized manipulations to modify the motions of these primitives, including
using arced trajectories, easing AFF velocities smoothly in
and out, and using anticipatory motions to telegraph AFF
expectations and users’ basic “interaction instincts.”
Study 1: Social Norms for Flying Robots (Planned):
Currently, AFFs rate low across all dimensions of the social robot framework [2]. In this study, I plan to examine
user expectations regarding appropriate social norms for flying robots. This study will examine several aspects including proxemic distances, altitudes, morphology, directionality, and orientation, to gain an understanding regarding the
“correct” social behavior for AFFs given that many AFF
capabilities do not appear to map directly into any known
human social norms. This study will utilize several methods
including think-alouds, interviews, and evaluations to gain
insight into the design of appropriate AFF behaviors.
Figure 2: Observers view a colocated AFF in an environmental
inspection task.
intent. I then conducted a formative exploration using a
virtual AFF to investigated the usefulness of these manipulations in conveying AFF intent. My findings informed the
design of manipulations to primitive motions for a physically embodied AFF to use while executing task-based flight
paths. I conducted an in-person 2 × 1 within-participants
study to evaluate participant responses when observing a
colocated AFF executing flight paths constructed from primitives designed to express intent and paths constructed from
unaltered primitives. My results showed that the manipulated motion designs significantly improved viewers’ preferences for working with an AFF, ratings of motion naturalness, and sense of safety.
Study 2: Signalling Mechanisms for AFFs (Ongoing): Although there has been a great deal of research on
nonverbal robot communication (e.g., see [4]), it is not always clear how to adapt findings to functional robots that
lack zoomorphic or anthropomorphic features. This study
will examine the development of a signalling “language” for
AFFs, using three channels: luminescence, sound, and motion. Each channel is able to express cues by manipulating
a variety of variables, for instance manipulating the colors,
intensities, and positions of electronic lights. I first plan to
develop a comprehensive library of potential AFF signalling
mechanisms from prior work (e.g., [1, 5]) and map the potential affordances of these mechanisms to various AFF communication goals. I then plan to evaluate the design using
a 3 (correctly mapped vs randomly mapped vs no signalling
mechanism) x 2 (collaborator vs bystander) study in which
participants interact with an embodied AFF executing an
environmental inspection task (e.g., Figure 2). My hypothesis is that the utilization of signalling mechanisms affording
the correct communication goal will maximize perceptions of
AFF usability and trust and will increase task performance
for proximal collaborators.
2.2
Mental Models and Expectations
Responses to robot aid are extremely complex [8], often due
to unclear mental models of how users should interact with
the robot or interactions in which the robot violates social
norms or expectations. This phase will examine of how people make sense of flying robots by examining AFF social
Study 2: Spontaneous Interactions (Planned): AFFs
are envisioned to interact extensively within human environments where even bystanders may exhibit limited interaction
[6]. Examining bystander interactions, especially interactions which may change a bystander into a peer, hold great
promise for increasing AFF usability. In this study, I plan
to examine limited, spontaneous bystander interactions with
AFFs to analyze both the form of these interactions (e.g.,
gaze, gestures) as well as bystander goals during these interactions (e.g., indicate low interruptibility, show interest
in the robot). My hypothesis is that AFFs that can understand and recognize the instinctual interaction methods
used by bystanders in spontaneous interaction will be seen as
more useful and less intrusive in human work environments.
3.
EXPECTED CONTRIBUTIONS
This research will produce several contributions the body
of HRI knowledge by helping to develop a framework for
AFF communicative affordances and grounding future studies with an exploration of how users develop mental models and social understandings for interacting with AFFs in
close proximity. This research will produce an increased contextual understanding surrounding proximal human interactions with AFFs, which are currently a novel and extremely
promising platform for human-robot collaboration.
4.
REFERENCES
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