Evaluation of Human Robot Collaboration in Masonry Work Using Immersive Virtual Environments

With the advent of collaborative robots, there is a great potential to improve work performance by human-robot collaboration in engineering tasks. Construction is no exception. Many construction tasks are based on the movement of objects (e.g., material), which are viable candidates for human-robot collaboration. However, due to the physically imposing nature of robot operations and the unstructured environments typical in construction, it is crucial to provide a safe and reliable environment for human workers when performing collaborative work with robots. In this paper, we use Immersive Virtual Environments (IVEs) to evaluate a human response to robots (e.g. perceived safety, trust, and team identification) while performing collaborative construction tasks with robots. By adopting IVEs, various types of robots, interactions, and tasks can be easily tested and evaluated to determine the best HRC practice, without the need to build and evaluate a physical prototype. Several experimental scenarios simulating collaborative masonry tasks were implemented using the Unity3D Game Engine and an Oculus Rift 3D Head-Mounted Display (HMD). The results demonstrate that it is important to take into account work environment of human-robot collaboration in order to understand how humans perceive robots when working with them.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/116277/1/CONVR2015_Final.pd

The Effects of the Big Five Personality Traits on Stress among Robot Programming Students

This paper presents relationships between personality traits and stress levels in light of the transactional model of stress. The framework of the transactional model was applied to determine the significance of work with a robot for primary and secondary stress appraisal made by an individual. We decided to use the Big Five personality traits model as one which integrates the dimensions of personality and had been previously applied to research on stress. The participants in our three-wave study were 105 students doing an industrial robots programming course. Using Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) and Questionnaire for Primary and Secondary Appraisal (PASA) questionnaires, we gathered information about the students’ personality, the level of anticipated stress, and the stress experienced while working with a robot after 6 and 12 weeks. The obtained results prove that emotional stability is significant for secondary appraisal of anticipated stress. The results also show that openness to experience is a negative predictor, whereas conscientiousness is a positive predictor of primary stress appraisal. The ability to cope with stress after 12 weeks of work with a robot is appraised as higher by older, more conscientious, and introverted people. The obtained results are discussed from the psychological perspective of stress and personality, which complements earlier studies in technical sciences. The limitations of the study are also indicated

Enhancing Perceived Safety in Human–Robot Collaborative Construction Using Immersive Virtual Environments

Advances in robotics now permit humans to work collaboratively with robots. However, humans often feel unsafe working alongside robots. Our knowledge of how to help humans overcome this issue is limited by two challenges. One, it is difficult, expensive and time-consuming to prototype robots and set up various work situations needed to conduct studies in this area. Two, we lack strong theoretical models to predict and explain perceived safety and its influence on human–robot work collaboration (HRWC). To address these issues, we introduce the Robot Acceptance Safety Model (RASM) and employ immersive virtual environments (IVEs) to examine perceived safety of working on tasks alongside a robot. Results from a between-subjects experiment done in an IVE show that separation of work areas between robots and humans increases perceived safety by promoting team identification and trust in the robot. In addition, the more participants felt it was safe to work with the robot, the more willing they were to work alongside the robot in the future.University of Michigan Mcubed Grant: Virtual Prototyping of Human-Robot Collaboration in Unstructured Construction EnvironmentsPeer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145620/1/You et al. forthcoming in AutCon.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145620/4/You et al. 2018.pdfDescription of You et al. 2018.pdf : Published Versio

Robotic Assisted Design: A study of key human factors influencing team fluency in human‐robot collaborative design processes

Architecture is going through a new phase of consolidation after a paradigm shift on how architecture is conceived and produced. It includes an increase in interdisciplinary approaches, a deep relationship between architecture and technology, a new era of trial and error – of prototyping in theory and in practice – and, most importantly, a change in the relationship between thinking and doing. Work within architecture research laboratories has focused on connecting parametric models with robotic manufacturing tools and materials that allow the production of many different, customised parts. This idea stems from viewing robots as precisely controlled machines for fabrication and has led to the current scenario of relatively unchanged models of human-machine interaction and design processes. However, evolution in the field of human–robot collaboration suggests that the implementation of technological change should not be viewed simply as an engineering problem. It is crucial to understand the human factors that are needed for the successful integration and implementation of new technologies. This dissertation aims to understand key human factors that influence the development of symbiotic agencies in robotic‐assisted design. It explores the relationship between digital architectural design and its materialisation through a collaborative process between designer manipulation, phase‐changing materials and robotic fabrication. In this context robotic technology is utilised as an ‘amplifier’ in the design process to realise geometries and architectural visions through iterative feedback loops. The robotic environment enables synchronised analogue and digital modelling through robotic agency within a dialogic design process between materials, computational hardware, software tools and the designer. Experiments, case studies and a controlled user study have been developed to test this workflow and evaluate the theoretical framework of key human elements that need to be considered for the successful implementation of human-robot collaboration in the architectural design proces