REU Site: Collaborative Human-Robot Interaction for Robots in the Field

这个本科生研究体验网站将开发和评估机器人系统，其功能是帮助弥合人与机器人协作的差距，高效和有效地实现目标。人-机器人交互研究有可能影响在传统实验室环境之外的环境中操作自主系统的几个现实世界挑战，在传统实验室环境中，机器人具有独特的能力来帮助人类团队成员实现共同目标。然而，有效的人-机器人协作存在许多挑战，这些挑战阻碍了这一承诺，例如使用自然语言与人类合作伙伴进行交流，通过可视界面向操作员提供信息，或者快速提供信息以便人能够提供帮助。该网站将开发新的自主机器人能力和支持网络和数据科学技术，以应对在医院、诊所、家庭和基础设施环境中操作自主系统的现实世界挑战。学生将发展领域知识、数学技能和跨学科能力。本科生的暑期活动将提供与当前研究项目相关的实践科学和工程活动，以及专业发展，并提供撰写研究生院申请和如何申请奖学金以支持研究生教育的培训课程。该REU网站通过开发可在现场使用的辅助技术这一共同目标将项目联系在一起。项目团队每年夏天将指导10名本科生，从事直接影响以下技术挑战的研究：针对护理环境开发自主机器人能力，例如与护理专业人员合作执行复杂任务的联网机器人设备，以支持就地老龄化；利用机器人提供技术支持的操作的人类指挥和控制基础设施；以及由机器人、计算机和嵌入式设备组成的网络的连接和安全，这些设备共同用于实现任务关键型目标，同时利用无线频谱的未使用部分。该网站结合了与这些计算领域相关的五个项目：在公共空间进行适当的社交导航；通过交互了解用户的舒适度；紧密耦合的协作人-机器人团队；与远程代理的高效协作；以及通过人-机器人相互交织的网络进行第一反应搜救行动。智力成果可能包括关于长期人-机器人交互的发现，用于挑战信号环境的无线网络，用于人-机器人协作的自主机器人能力，以及用于处理来自真实世界系统的大量数据的数据科学工具。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Research Experiences for Undergraduates site will develop and evaluate robotic systems whose function is to help bridge the human-robot collaboration gap and achieve objectives efficiently and effectively. Human-robot interaction research has the potential to affect several real-world challenges of operating autonomous systems in environments outside of a traditional lab setting where robots are uniquely able to assist a human team member to achieve a common goal. However, there are many challenges for effective human-robot collaboration that impinge on this promise, such as communicating with human partners using natural language, providing information to an operator through a visual interface, or quickly providing information so that a person is able to offer assistance. The site will develop new autonomous robot capabilities and supporting network and data science technology to address real-world challenges of operating autonomous systems in hospital, clinic, home, and infrastructure environments. Students will develop domain knowledge, mathematical skills, and interdisciplinary competency. The summer activities for undergraduates will provide hands-on science and engineering activities related to current research projects, and professional development with training sessions on writing a graduate school application and how to apply for fellowships to support graduate education. This REU site links projects together through the common objective of developing assistive technology that can be used in the field. The project team will mentor 10 undergraduates each summer, pursuing research directly impacting the following technical challenges: development of autonomous robot capabilities targeted for care environments, such as networked robotics devices cooperating with care professionals to perform complex tasks in support of aging in place; human command-and-control infrastructure for operations that utilize robots for technology support; and connectivity and security for a network of robots, computers, and embedded devices collectively used to address mission-critical goals while utilizing unused parts of the wireless spectrum. The site combines five projects related to these computing domains: socially appropriately navigating in public spaces; understanding user comfort through interactions; tightly-coupled collaborative human-robot teams; efficient collaboration with remotely-situated agents; and first-responder search and rescue operations with human-robot intertwined networks. Intellectual results may include discoveries about long-term human-robot interaction, wireless networking for challenging signal environments, autonomous robot capabilities for human-robot teaming, and data science tools for processing high volumes of data from real-world systems.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.