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Zhang X, Chen Y, Hassan M, Suzuki K. Peer-to-Peer Ultra-Wideband Localization for Hands-Free Control of a Human-Guided Smart Stroller. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 24:4828. [PMID: 39123875 PMCID: PMC11314917 DOI: 10.3390/s24154828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2024] [Revised: 07/21/2024] [Accepted: 07/23/2024] [Indexed: 08/12/2024]
Abstract
We propose a hands-free control system for a human-guided smart stroller. The proposed method uses real-time peer-to-peer localization technology of the human and stroller to realize an intuitive hands-free control system based on the relative position between the human and the stroller. The control method is also based on functional and mechanical safety to ensure the safety of the stroller's occupant (child) and the pilot (parent) during locomotion. In this paper, first, we present a preliminary investigation of the humans' preference for the relative position in the context of hands-free guided strollers. Then, we present the control method and a prototype implemented with an electric wheelchair and UWB sensors for localization. We present an experimental evaluation of the proposed method with 14 persons walking with the developed prototype to investigate the usability and soundness of the proposed method compared to a remote joystick and manual operation. The evaluation experiments were conducted in an indoor environment and revealed that the proposed method matches the performance of joystick control but does not perform as well as manual operation. Notably, for female participants, the proposed method significantly surpasses joystick performance and achieves parity with manual operation, which shows its efficacy and potential for a smart stroller. Also, the results revealed that the proposed method significantly decreased the user's physical load compared to the manual operation. We present discussions on the controllability, usability, task load, and safety features of the proposed method, and conclude this work with a summary assessment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoxi Zhang
- Degree Programs in Systems and Information Engineering, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8577, Japan
| | - Yang Chen
- Institute of Systems and Information Engineering, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8577, Japan; (Y.C.); (M.H.); (K.S.)
| | - Modar Hassan
- Institute of Systems and Information Engineering, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8577, Japan; (Y.C.); (M.H.); (K.S.)
| | - Kenji Suzuki
- Institute of Systems and Information Engineering, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8577, Japan; (Y.C.); (M.H.); (K.S.)
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Karwowski J, Szynkiewicz W, Niewiadomska-Szynkiewicz E. Bridging Requirements, Planning, and Evaluation: A Review of Social Robot Navigation. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 24:2794. [PMID: 38732900 PMCID: PMC11086376 DOI: 10.3390/s24092794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2024] [Revised: 04/21/2024] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024]
Abstract
Navigation lies at the core of social robotics, enabling robots to navigate and interact seamlessly in human environments. The primary focus of human-aware robot navigation is minimizing discomfort among surrounding humans. Our review explores user studies, examining factors that cause human discomfort, to perform the grounding of social robot navigation requirements and to form a taxonomy of elementary necessities that should be implemented by comprehensive algorithms. This survey also discusses human-aware navigation from an algorithmic perspective, reviewing the perception and motion planning methods integral to social navigation. Additionally, the review investigates different types of studies and tools facilitating the evaluation of social robot navigation approaches, namely datasets, simulators, and benchmarks. Our survey also identifies the main challenges of human-aware navigation, highlighting the essential future work perspectives. This work stands out from other review papers, as it not only investigates the variety of methods for implementing human awareness in robot control systems but also classifies the approaches according to the grounded requirements regarded in their objectives.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Ewa Niewiadomska-Szynkiewicz
- Institute of Control and Computation Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology, 00-665 Warsaw, Poland; (J.K.); (W.S.)
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3
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Adaptive Social Planner to Accompany People in Real-Life Dynamic Environments. Int J Soc Robot 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s12369-022-00937-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
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Liberman-Pincu E, Parmet Y, Oron-Gilad T. Judging a Socially Assistive Robot (SAR) by its Cover; The Effect of Body Structure, Outline, and Color on Users' Perception. ACM TRANSACTIONS ON HUMAN-ROBOT INTERACTION 2022. [DOI: 10.1145/3571717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Socially assistive robots (SARs) aim to provide assistance through social interaction. Previous studies contributed to understanding users` perceptions and preferences regarding existing commercially available SARs. Yet, very few studies regarding SARs' appearance used designated SAR designs, and even fewer evaluated isolated visual qualities (VQ). In this work, we aim to assess the effect of isolated VQs systematically. To achieve this, we first conducted market survey and deconstructed the VQs attributed to SARs. Then, a reconstruction of body structure, outline, and color scheme was done, resulting in the creation of 30 new SAR models that differ in their VQs, allowing us to isolate one character at a time. We used these new designs to evaluate users' preferences and perceptions in two empirical studies. Our empirical findings link VQs with perceptions of SAR characteristics. These can lead to forming guidelines for the industrial design processes of new SARs to match user expectations.
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Olatunji SA, Potenza A, Kiselev A, Oron-Gilad T, Loutfi A, Edan Y. Levels of Automation for a Mobile Robot Teleoperated by a Caregiver. ACM TRANSACTIONS ON HUMAN-ROBOT INTERACTION 2022. [DOI: 10.1145/3507471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Caregivers in eldercare can benefit from telepresence robots that allow them to perform a variety of tasks remotely. In order for such robots to be operated effectively and efficiently by non-technical users, it is important to examine if and how the robotic system’s level of automation (LOA) impacts their performance. The objective of this work was to develop suitable LOA modes for a mobile robotic telepresence (MRP) system for eldercare and assess their influence on users’ performance, workload, awareness of the environment, and usability at two different levels of task complexity. For this purpose, two LOA modes were implemented on the MRP platform: assisted teleoperation (low LOA mode) and autonomous navigation (high LOA mode). The system was evaluated in a user study with 20 participants, who, in the role of the caregiver, navigated the robot through a home-like environment to perform control and perception tasks. Results revealed that performance improved in the high LOA when task complexity was low. However, when task complexity increased, lower LOA improved performance. This opposite trend was also observed in the results for workload and situation awareness. We discuss the results in terms of the LOAs’ impact on users’ attitude towards automation and implications on usability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel A. Olatunji
- Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be’er Sheva, Israel
| | - Andre Potenza
- Center for Applied Autonomous Sensor Systems (AASS), Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden
| | - Andrey Kiselev
- Center for Applied Autonomous Sensor Systems (AASS), Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden
| | - Tal Oron-Gilad
- Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be’er Sheva, Israel
| | - Amy Loutfi
- Center for Applied Autonomous Sensor Systems (AASS), Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden
| | - Yael Edan
- Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be’er Sheva, Israel
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Gao Y, Huang CM. Evaluation of Socially-Aware Robot Navigation. Front Robot AI 2022; 8:721317. [PMID: 35096978 PMCID: PMC8791647 DOI: 10.3389/frobt.2021.721317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2021] [Accepted: 12/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
As mobile robots are increasingly introduced into our daily lives, it grows ever more imperative that these robots navigate with and among people in a safe and socially acceptable manner, particularly in shared spaces. While research on enabling socially-aware robot navigation has expanded over the years, there are no agreed-upon evaluation protocols or benchmarks to allow for the systematic development and evaluation of socially-aware navigation. As an effort to aid more productive development and progress comparisons, in this paper we review the evaluation methods, scenarios, datasets, and metrics commonly used in previous socially-aware navigation research, discuss the limitations of existing evaluation protocols, and highlight research opportunities for advancing socially-aware robot navigation.
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Siebert FW, Klein J, Rötting M, Roesler E. The Influence of Distance and Lateral Offset of Follow Me Robots on User Perception. Front Robot AI 2020; 7:74. [PMID: 33501241 PMCID: PMC7805831 DOI: 10.3389/frobt.2020.00074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2019] [Accepted: 05/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Robots that are designed to work in close proximity to humans are required to move and act in a way that ensures social acceptance by their users. Hence, a robot's proximal behavior toward a human is a main concern, especially in human-robot interaction that relies on relatively close proximity. This study investigated how the distance and lateral offset of "Follow Me" robots influences how they are perceived by humans. To this end, a Follow Me robot was built and tested in a user study for a number of subjective variables. A total of 18 participants interacted with the robot, with the robot's lateral offset and distance varied in a within-subject design. After each interaction, participants were asked to rate the movement of the robot on the dimensions of comfort, expectancy conformity, human likeness, safety, trust, and unobtrusiveness. Results show that users generally prefer robot following distances in the social space, without a lateral offset. However, we found a main influence of affinity for technology, as those participants with a high affinity for technology preferred closer following distances than participants with low affinity for technology. The results of this study show the importance of user-adaptiveness in human-robot-interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix Wilhelm Siebert
- Department of Psychology and Ergonomics, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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Repiso E, Garrell A, Sanfeliu A. People's Adaptive Side-by-Side Model Evolved to Accompany Groups of People by Social Robots. IEEE Robot Autom Lett 2020. [DOI: 10.1109/lra.2020.2970676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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Abstract
A wide range of human–robot collaborative applications in diverse domains, such as manufacturing, health care, the entertainment industry, and social interactions, require an autonomous robot to follow its human companion. Different working environments and applications pose diverse challenges by adding constraints on the choice of sensors, degree of autonomy, and dynamics of a person-following robot. Researchers have addressed these challenges in many ways and contributed to the development of a large body of literature. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the literature by categorizing different aspects of person-following by autonomous robots. Also, the corresponding operational challenges are identified based on various design choices for ground, underwater, and aerial scenarios. In addition, state-of-the-art methods for perception, planning, control, and interaction are elaborately discussed and their applicability in varied operational scenarios is presented. Then some of the prominent methods are qualitatively compared, corresponding practicalities are illustrated, and their feasibility is analyzed for various use cases. Furthermore, several prospective application areas are identified, and open problems are highlighted for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Md Jahidul Islam
- Interactive Robotics and Vision Laboratory, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota, USA
| | - Jungseok Hong
- Interactive Robotics and Vision Laboratory, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota, USA
| | - Junaed Sattar
- Interactive Robotics and Vision Laboratory, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota, USA
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