Virtual Reality Platform to Develop and Test Applications on Human-Robot Social Interaction

Theoretical Considerations and Applications for Social Robots in Virtual Reality

“…For example, using VR for remote operation of the construction robot could help improve efficiency and safety as well as reduce operators’ stress, compared to the conventional display which limits accessibility to the information of the actual construction site (Tang & Yamada, 2011). Moreover, VR can be used to provide a safe, inexpensive, and efficient method for training humans and robots to perform collaborative tasks in complex and safety-critical work settings such as surgery and manufacturing (Bottega et al, 2022; Dianatfar et al, 2020; Safaric et al, 2003), or in the situation where novel robots are introduced in the workplace. Given the benefits of VR solutions in the industrial HRI, it is promising that these benefits might be applicable to robots in other contexts, particularly to social robots as we discuss in the next section.…”

“…Previous studies have proposed VR as a promising alternative to classic HRI experiments (Duguleana et al, 2011). VR is a cost-effective platform for developing and testing the interface designs of robots before actually investing in the development of those designs (Bottega et al, 2022). Not only it allows researchers to conduct an experiment with multiple robots, VR simulation also eliminates the need to contact physical robots and the possibility to cause harm to sensors and the physical structure of a real robot (Bottega et al, 2022; Kamide et al, 2014).…”