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In previous work, researchers in Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) have demonstrated that user trust in robots depends on effective and transparent communication. This may be particularly true for robots used for transportation, due to user reliance on such robots for physical movement and safety. In this paper, we present the design of an experiment examining the importance of proactive communication by robotic wheelchairs, as compared to non-vehicular mobile robots, within a Virtual Reality (VR) environment. Furthermore, we describe the specific advantages – and limitations – of conducting this type of HRI experiment in VR.
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Lessons From A Small-Scale Robot Joining Experiment in VR
In this paper, we present a shared manipulation task performed both in virtual reality with a simulated robot and in the real world with a physical robot. A collaborative assembly task where the human and robot work together to construct as simple electrical circuit was chosen. While there are platforms available for conducting human robot interactions using virtual reality, there has not been significant work investigating how it can influence human perception of tasks that are typically done in person. We present an overview of the simulation environment used, describe the paired experiment being performed, and finally enumerate a set of design desiderata to be considered when conducting sim2real experiment involving humans in a virtual setting.
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- PAR ID:
- 10466815
- Publisher / Repository:
- The Human-Robot Interaction Conference (HRI) 6th Int'l Workshop on Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed-Reality for Human-Robot Interactions (VAM-HRI)
- Date Published:
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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