Spatial Perception and Robot Operation: Should Spatial Abilities Be Considered When Selecting Robot Operators?

Abstract

Introduction. This study investigated the relationship between spatial perception abilities and robot operation under direct-line-of-sight and teleoperation viewing conditions. This study was an effort to determine if spatial ability testing may be a useful tool in the selection of human-robot interaction (HRI) operators. Method. Participants completed eight cognitive measures and operated one of four types of robots under tasks of low and high difficulty. Performance for each participant was tested during both direct-line-of-sight and teleoperation. Results. Spatial abilities are shown to be reliable predictors of directline-of-sight and teleoperation performance. Participants in this study with higher spatial abilities completed their tasks faster and with fewer errors. Participants with higher spatial abilities were also more successful at completing the task. Discussion. Applications of these findings are discussed in terms of teleoperator selection tools, HRI training, and human-centered design recommendations.

Cyber Human Interaction

“…RT, spatial abilities (SO & V), WM, dexterity (GD & FD), visual acuity (SV & WV) were all important factors for ToT; RT and V were important factors to the NoM; while WM, FD, and DP were all found to be important human factors to the NoM/min. These findings consolidate prior work that indicated spatial ability [80]- [81], WM [86], RT [86]- [87], and visual processing ability [25] were all important to both using a robot and performing manual reaching tasks. Additionally, it was found that both GD and FD also predicted the completion of the experimental tasks.…”

“…Next, the third factor, spatial ability, is comprised of two components: spatial orientation based on an observer's point-of-view, and secondly, spatial visualization, viewpoint agnostic mental manipulation in a three-dimensional space. This factor is an important factor of HRI because it allows the user to create cognitive maps the workspace in order to make spatial decisions [80,81]. For example, this may assist with integrating information from multiple camera angles, and their direct line of sight viewpoint.…”

The Influence of Gaming Experience, Gender and Other Individual Factors on Robot Teleoperations in VR

“…Human performance in robot teleoperation is indeed strongly related to both spatial skills and gaming experience. Notably, in robotic teleoperation via desktop [5], people with higher spatial abilities outperformed those with lower spatial abilities. At the same time, those with low spatial abilities but high gaming experience were able to complete the task nearly as fast as those with higher spatial abilities.…”

“…Another critical factor potentially affecting performance in HRIs is the experience with video games. Gamers are known to benefit from their gaming practice for their increased spatial abilities [3,4], handiness with joysticks and visual interfaces and, in turn, teleoperations [5,6,7]. Human performance in robot teleoperation is indeed strongly related to both spatial skills and gaming experience.…”

“…At the same time, those with low spatial abilities but high gaming experience were able to complete the task nearly as fast as those with higher spatial abilities. Remarkably, the advantage of gamers over non-gamers was observed not only in desktop teleoperations [5,6] but also in Virtual Reality (VR) [7]. For instance, Brizzi and colleagues [7] tested participants teleoperating a robot through a pick-andplace task by physically moving their upper limbs in VR.…”