Field trial for simultaneous teleoperation of mobile social robots

Abstract

Simultaneous teleoperation of mobile, social robots presents unique challenges, combining the real-time demands of conversation with the prioritized scheduling of navigational tasks. We have developed a system in which a single operator can effectively control four mobile robots performing both conversation and navigation. We compare the teleoperation requirements for mobile, social robots with those of traditional robot systems, and we identify metrics for evaluating task difficulty and operator performance for teleoperation of mobile social robots. As a proof of concept, we present an integrated priority model combining real-time conversational demands and non-real-time navigational demands for operator attention, and in a pioneering study, we apply the model and metrics in a demonstration of our multi-robot system through real-world field trials in a shopping arcade.

A Teleoperation Approach for Mobile Social Robots Incorporating Automatic Gaze Control and Three-Dimensional Spatial Visualization

“…These studies are certainly useful for future social robots; however, the context of users was often out of focus in this type of studies. Some previous studies in robotics have aimed to recognize users' context, like a way to recognize joint attention behavior [1], attention [26], engagement [27], and perspective [24]. Although new techniques are constantly being developed, the robots' capabilities in context-sensitive interactions have remained highly limited.…”

Field Trial of a Networked Robot at a Train Station

“…Related to the latter, some researches enable one operator to control multiple robots by reducing the operator load [6,36]. One problem in teleoperation with multiple conversational robots is the conflict of using the operator's resources.…”

“…Conversational interactions tend to follow patterns that sometimes make it possible to anticipate the need for the operator. Dylan et al scheduled behaviors to avoid conflicts about operator resources [6]. These approaches will decrease the load of operators who control communication robots.…”

“…In this strategy, a human operator supports the decisions of a robot during interaction. In other words, a robot behaves semiautonomously [6]. Semi-autonomous communication robots can achieve useful tasks in real fields supported by a human operator.…”

Supervisory control of multiple social robots for navigation

“…Research of human-robot interaction using mobile robots has been conducted in a variety of environments, such as shopping areas [1][2][3] and museums [4][5][6], suggesting great potential for mobile social robots as real-world service providers in the near future. By leveraging their navigational ability, social robots can provide useful services such as route guidance [7], shopping support [8], and baggage carrying [9], by moving together with customers in shopping areas.…”