Mobile manipulator platforms, like the Stretch RE1 robot, make the promise of in-home robotic assistance feasible. For people with severe physical limitations, like those with quadriplegia, the ability to tele-operate these robots themselves means that they can perform physical tasks they cannot otherwise do themselves, thereby increasing their level of independence. In order for users with physical limitations to operate these robots, their interfaces must be accessible and cater to the specific needs of all users. As physical limitations vary amongst users, it is difficult to make a single interface that will accommodate all users. Instead, such interfaces should be customizable to each individual user. In this paper we explore the value of customization of a browser-based interface for tele-operating the Stretch RE1 robot. More specifically, we evaluate the usability and effectiveness of a customized interface in comparison to the default interface configurations from prior work. We present a user study involving participants with motor impairments (N=10) and without motor impairments, who could serve as a caregiver, (N=13) that use the robot to perform mobile manipulation tasks in a real kitchen environment. Our study demonstrates that no single interface configuration satisfies all users' needs and preferences. Users perform better when using the customized interface for navigation, but not for manipulation due to higher complexity of learning to manipulate through the robot. All participants are able to use the robot to complete all tasks and participants with motor impairments believe that having the robot in their home would make them more independent.
翻译:移动式操纵平台,如Stretch RE1机器人,使在家庭里提供机器人帮助成为可能。对于身体严重受限的人,例如四肢瘫痪的人,他们自己远程操纵这些机器人意味着他们可以执行他们无法自己完成的体力任务,从而增加他们的独立性水平。为使身体受限的用户能操作这些机器人,他们的接口必须可访问,并迎合所有用户的特定需求。由于各用户的身体限制不同,因此难以设计出适应所有用户的单一接口。相反,这些接口应该能够根据每个个体用户进行定制。在本文中,我们探讨了面向远程操纵Stretch RE1机器人的基于浏览器的界面自定义的价值。更具体地说,我们通过与之前的研究中的默认界面配置进行比较,评估了定制界面的可用性和有效性。我们提出了一个用户研究,涉及使用机器人在真实的厨房环境中执行移动操作任务的有运动障碍者(N=10)和没有运动障碍者但可以担任照顾者的参与者(N=13)。我们的研究表明,没有一种单一的接口配置能满足所有用户的需求和偏好。使用定制的界面进行导航时,用户的表现更好,但由于学习操纵机器人要求的复杂性更高,在处理操纵时使用定制界面的用户效果不佳。所有参与者都能够使用机器人完成所有任务,而具有运动障碍的参与者认为,让机器人进入自己的家可以让他们更加独立。