Experience of using a haptic interface to follow a robot without visual feedback

Abstract

Abstract-Search and rescue operations are often undertaken in smoke filled and noisy environments in which rescue teams must rely on haptic feedback for navigation and safe exit. In this paper, we discuss designing and evaluating a haptic interface to enable a human being to follow a robot through an environment with no-visibility. We first discuss the considerations that have led to our current interface design. The second part of the paper describes our testing procedure and the results of our first tests. Based on these results we discuss future improvements of our design.Keywords -human robot interaction; haptic interface; support for no-visibility/visually impaired

Haptic Directional Information for Spatial Exploration ©

“…The handle is attached to the robot with a flexible joint (spring system) and aligned with the center line of the robot, refer to Fig.1 left. The handle can rotate in the horizontal plane, and rotation induces tension on the handle; this induces the best robot following behaviour as [3] has shown.…”

“…In addition also combined activations can be thought of. However, [3] found that subjects tend to perceive this as a single, more intense, signal. When a handler is navigating an environment, certainly when unknown, new data/information about the area in front is the most relevant.…”

“…Obviously, to be able to follow the robot, the handler needs to know where the robot is, relative to his/her current position and orientation. In [3] it is argued that a stiff handle is the best solution for enabling the handler to know where the robot is relative to the handler's position: distance (length of the stick) and orientation (direction of the stick) are implicitly given. However, [3] also notices a lack of accuracy in sensing the direction when holding a stick blind folded, and concludes that a crutch like design fixed on the lower arm, is preferred.…”

“…In [3] it is argued that a stiff handle is the best solution for enabling the handler to know where the robot is relative to the handler's position: distance (length of the stick) and orientation (direction of the stick) are implicitly given. However, [3] also notices a lack of accuracy in sensing the direction when holding a stick blind folded, and concludes that a crutch like design fixed on the lower arm, is preferred. The handle is attached to the robot with a flexible joint (spring system) and aligned with the center line of the robot, refer to Fig.1 left.…”

“…The authors of [2] reported the application of a physical handle -a stick modelled as a crutch -to link the robot to the human. They distinguished between navigation and locomotion guidance: navigation involves wayfinding while locomotion guidance denotes traversing from the current location to the nearest waypoint [2]; locomotion guidance by a robot has been investigated and reported in [3]. Robots are helpful for navigation as the localisation problems are technically solved [4].…”