Help through demonstration and automation for interactive computing systems: a survey of recent works

Usability is very important however, it is still difficult to develop interactive computing systems that meet all user’s specificities. Help systems should be a way of bridging this gap. This paper presents a general survey on recent works (building upon previous surveys) related to improving applications’ help through demonstration and automation and, identifies which technologies are acting as enablers. The main contributions are, identifying (i) which are the recent existing solutions; (ii) which aspects must be investigated further; and (iii) which are the main difficulties that are preventing a faster progress.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Help through demonstration and automation for interactive computing systems: a survey of recent works

Usability is very important however, it is still difficult to develop interactive computing systems that meet all user’s specificities. Help systems should be a way of bridging this gap. This paper presents a general survey on recent works (building upon previous surveys) related to improving applications’ help through demonstration and automation and, identifies which technologies are acting as enablers. The main contributions are, identifying (i) which are the recent existing solutions; (ii) which aspects must be investigated further; and (iii) which are the main difficulties that are preventing a faster progress.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Human-robot interaction using a behavioural control strategy

PhD ThesisA topical and important aspect of robotics research is in the area of human-robot interaction (HRI), which addresses the issue of cooperation between a human and a robot to allow tasks to be shared in a safe and reliable manner. This thesis focuses on the design and development of an appropriate set of behaviour strategies for human-robot interactive control by first understanding how an equivalent human-human interaction (HHI) can be used to establish a framework for a robotic behaviour-based approach. To achieve the above goal, two preliminary HHI experimental investigations were initiated in this study. The first of which was designed to evaluate the human dynamic response using a one degree-of-freedom (DOF) HHI rectilinear test where the handler passes a compliant object to the receiver along a constrained horizontal path. The human dynamic response while executing the HHI rectilinear task has been investigated using a Box-Behnken design of experiments [Box and Hunter, 1957] and was based on the McRuer crossover model [McRuer et al. 1995]. To mimic a real-world human-human object handover task where the handler is able to pass an object to the receiver in a 3D workspace, a second more substantive one DOF HHI baton handover task has been developed. The HHI object handover tests were designed to understand the dynamic behavioural characteristics of the human participants, in which the handler was required to dexterously pass an object to the receiver in a timely and natural manner. The profiles of interactive forces between the handler and receiver were measured as a function of time, and how they are modulated whilst performing the tasks, was evaluated. Three key parameters were used to identify the physical characteristics of the human participants, including: peak interactive force (fmax), transfer time (Ttrf), and work done (W). These variables were subsequently used to design and develop an appropriate set of force and velocity control strategies for a six DOF Stäubli robot manipulator arm (TX60) working in a human-robot interactive environment. The optimal design of the software and hardware controller implementation for the robot system has been successfully established in keeping with a behaviour-based approach. External force control based on proportional plus integral (PI) and fuzzy logic control (FLC) algorithms were adopted to control the robot end effector velocity and interactive force in real-time. ii The results of interactive experiments with human-to-robot and robot-to-human handover tasks allowed a comparison of the PI and FLC control strategies. It can be concluded that the quantitative measurement of the performance of robot velocity and force control can be considered acceptable for human-robot interaction. These can provide effective performance during the robot-human object handover tasks, where the robot was able to successfully pass the object from/to the human in a safe, reliable and timely manner. However, after careful analysis with regard to human-robot handover test results, the FLC scheme was shown to be superior to PI control by actively compensating for the dynamics in the non-linear system and demonstrated better overall performance and stability. The FLC also shows superior performance in terms of improved sensitivity to small error changes compared to PI control, which is an advantage in establishing effective robot force control. The results of survey responses from the participants were in agreement with the parallel test outcomes, demonstrating significant satisfaction with the overall performance of the human-robot interactive system, as measured by an average rating of 4.06 on a five point scale. In brief, this research has contributed the foundations for long-term research, particularly in the development of an interactive real-time robot-force control system, which enables the robot manipulator arm to cooperate with a human to facilitate the dextrous transfer of objects in a safe and speedy manner.Thai government and Prince of Songkla University (PSU

ActionPool : a novel dynamic task scheduling method for service robots

Service robots require the seamless utlisation of several technical disciplines. Most of the required technologies are sufficiently advanced to provide feasible solutions to be used in the designing of service robots. For instance, mechanical engineering, control theory, electronics and electrical engineering aspects of the design have all matured well. On the other hand, it is the perception and artificial intelligence that provide the means for modelling the environment and the knowledge which are lagging behind. The latter two disciples in their current state, greatly limit the complexity of the tasks which can be performed by service robots. In this thesis, an ActionPool method for representing task knowledge and executing multiple tasks simultaneously with service robots is presented. The method is based on a concept in which the actions that are ready for execution are placed into a pool and from those most suitable for the situation are selected one by one. The number of actions in a pool and the number of tasks are limited only by the available computational resources. The actions can belong to different tasks, and thus the action pool allows the robot's indivisible resource to be dynamically dealt out for various tasks requiring the resources. In the ActionPool method, the functional parts of the service robot are divided into resources and an action pool is assigned to each one of them. This way, numerous tasks can be executed simultaneously. The ActionPool method allows a natural way of dynamically adding and removing tasks to and from the robot's active execution. The action selection method can direct the perception processes to observe the relevant parts of the environment. The ActionPool method has been implemented on two different service robot platforms to verify the generic nature of the method. Several tasks have been executed successfully to validate the claims about the qualities of the method. Compared to previous approaches, this work provides a fresh execution- and contingency-centric vantage point to the well studied robot control problem

Robots and humans as co-workers? The human-centred perspective of work with autonomous systems

The design of work organisation systems with automated equipment is facing new challenges and the emergence of new concepts. The social aspects that are related with new concepts on the complex work environments (CWE) are becoming more relevant for that design. The work with autonomous systems implies options in the design of workplaces. Especially that happens in such complex environments. The concepts of “agents”, “co-working” or “human-centred technical systems” reveal new dimensions related to human-computer interaction (HCI). With an increase in the number and complexity of those human-technology interfaces, the capacities of human intervention can become limited, originating further problems. The case of robotics is used to exemplify the issues related with automation in working environments and the emergence of new HCI approaches that would include social implications. We conclude that studies on technology assessment of industrial robotics and autonomous agents on manufacturing environment should also focus on the human involvement strategies in organisations. A needed participatory strategy implies a new approach to workplaces design. This means that the research focus must be on the relation between technology and social dimensions not as separate entities, but integrated in the design of an interaction system.With the support of the project Social implications of robotics in manufacturing industry (IR@MI) and project Intuitive interaction between humans and industrial robot systems – a contribution to a conceptual approach (I3RS), both financed by KIT in 2012

Defining interactions: a conceptual framework for understanding interactive behaviour in human and automated road traffic

Rapid advances in technology for highly automated vehicles (HAVs) have raised concerns about coexistence of HAVs and human road users. Although there is a long tradition of research into human road user interactions, there is a lack of shared models and terminology to support cross-disciplinary research and development towards safe and acceptable interaction-capable HAVs. Here, we review the main themes and findings in previous theoretical and empirical interaction research, and find large variability in perspectives and terminologies. We unify these perspectives in a structured, cross-theoretical conceptual framework, describing what road traffic interactions are, how they arise, and how they get resolved. Two key contributions are: (1) a stringent definition of “interaction”, as “a situation where the behaviour of at least two road users can be interpreted as being influenced by the possibility that they are both intending to occupy the same region of space at the same time in the near future”, and (2) a taxonomy of the types of behaviours that road users exhibit in interactions. We hope that this conceptual framework will be useful in the development of improved empirical methodology, theoretical models, and technical requirements on vehicle automation

Volume 89, Issue 3 (2015)

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