Wearable Haptic Feedback for Augmented Human-Machine Interfaces

增强现实描述了操作员可以同时体验 真实世界(看到他们面前的真实场景，听到他们周围的真实声音，等等)，同时体验虚拟信息，增强对环境的理解。这可能包括真实物体上的上下文敏感标签，随位置变化的上下文敏感的“叙述”，以及振动触觉反馈，指的是可以给用户一种人造触觉的小型振动马达。这项工作挖掘了增强现实的潜力。重点是用振动触觉反馈增强现实，在人类和机电系统之间提供自然和直观的界面，特别是但不限于移动机器人。我的目标是让人与机器之间的交互不那么像操作计算机或机器人，而更像是与服务动物或工具一起工作，特别是在机器支持非结构化环境中的领域专家的环境中。机器人被设想为参与行星探索的科学家的支持人员，自然灾害后寻找幸存者的紧急人员，甚至是消防和救护车工作人员等第一反应人员。与这类机器人支持人员互动不应该需要专门的培训，也不应该让人类远离他们的任务。 这项工作将在三个轨道上进行，以解决实现机电系统自然接口目标的关键问题。在第一个赛道中，我们将开发振动触觉反馈在提高人类/机器人队形移动的稳定性和性能方面的潜力。在第二个赛道中，我们将开发基于增强现实和振动触觉反馈的新型可穿戴用户界面，允许操作员通过手势和现实世界的点击与多机器人团队互动。最后，在第三个赛道中，我们将使用振动触觉反馈和上下文敏感的视觉提示来指导操作员完成盲目组装任务进行维护。所有三个轨道的统一要素是探索振动触觉反馈作为在非结构化环境中向操作员提供上下文敏感提示的方法所起的作用。

Augmented reality describes human/computer interfaces in which operators can simultaneously experience the real world (seeing the true scene in front of them, hearing the real sounds around them, and so on) while at the same time experiencing virtual information that enhances understanding of the environment. This can include context-sensitive labels on real objects, context-sensitive "narration" that changes with location and vibrotactile feedback, which refers to small vibrating motors that can give users an artifical sense of touch. This work exploits the potential of augmented reality. The emphasis is on reality augmented with vibrotactile feedback, to provide natural and intuitive interfaces between human beings and mechatronic systems, especially, but not limited to mobile robots. My goal is to make the interaction between humans and machines less like operating a computer or robot and more like working with a service animal or tool, particularly in the context of machines supporting domain experts in unstructured environments. Robots have been envisioned as support workers for scientists involved in planetary explorations, emergency personnel looking for survivors after natural disasters and even first responders such as fire and ambulance workers. Interacting with this class of robot support worker should not require specialized training, and should not take the humans away from their tasks. The work will proceed in three tracks that address key issues towards the goal of natural interfaces to mechatronic systems. In the first track, we will exploit the potential of vibrotactile feedback in enhancing the stability and performance of human/robot teams moving in formations. In the second track, we will develop novel wearable user interfaces based on augmented reality and vibrotactile feedback that allow operators to interact with multi-robot teams through gestures and real world point-and-click. Finally, in the third track, we will use vibrotactile feedback and context sensitive visual cues to steer operators through blind assembly tasks for maintenance. The unifying element in all three tracks is an exploration of the role of vibrotactile feedback as a method of providing context-sensitive cues to an operator in an unstructured environment.