A Human-Robot Visual-Inertial Monitoring System for Discoveries on Safe Human-Autonomy Interactions in Dynamic Environments

为了在高度动态的环境中通过提高我们对人类交互认知和注意力的理解来开发安全和计算高效的协作控制，我们正在申请资金购买最先进的人类-机器人监控系统。该系统包括远程和车载传感单元以及无线脑电(EEG)。它将能够使用1千赫的脑电研究人类自主共享控制(如辅助机器人和自动驾驶)的交互认知，并将通过在每个单元(即边缘计算)以20赫兹的激光雷达和雷达数据融合来进行检测(200米内)和增强感知。集成监控系统以及我们现有的基础设施是我们跨大学团队独有的，并为加拿大动态环境中的合作感知和人-自主交互研究建立了世界级的测试设施。该设备将利用CFI和NSERC资助的设施(关于移动机器人和神经科学)+75万美元，将支持+18个HQP，并将支持一个多元化的跨大学研究计划，解决三个主要主题的科学和应用挑战：1)联网机器人：通过设计受人类注意力启发的学习辅助分布式估计器，增强机器人在感知退化条件下的导航。2)以人为中心的遥操作：通过研究操作员在这种复杂场景下的行为，并围绕人的意图形成协作控制，来开发动态环境中移动机器人/车辆的安全遥操作。TELUS和艾伯塔大学最近就5G生活实验室建立的合作伙伴关系将得到利用。3)辅助机器人：通过评估用户意图，探索交互认知(共同设计学习模块和状态观察器的真正突破)，以及为认知障碍用户开发滚轮中的情境感知控制，提高个性化和安全性。该监控系统将进一步使许多跨学科研究活动能够通过控制工程、心理学和计算机科学学科的现有和新的教职员工和HQP，扩大基础设施作为核心设施的使用，以维持研究活动的未来增长，并支持加拿大的机器人和人工智能产业。该项目与社会科学和认知科学的紧密结合，以及我们既定的EDI政策，将为这些学科的公正和公平招聘提供强有力的手段。该计划将通过以下方式为HQP提供强有力的培训：高级理论/技术和专业发展培训和标准化实习。这将促进严格的方法、增强的研究文化和该计划的有效成果。延迟获取这种关键设备将限制当前跨大学项目的科学潜力，并将减少HQP培训。

To develop safe and computationally efficient cooperative controls in highly dynamic environments by enhancing our understanding of human interactive cognition and attention, we are requesting funding to purchase a state-of-the-art human-robot monitoring system. The system includes remote and on-board sensing units and a wireless electroencephalogram (EEG). It will enable studies on interactive cognition for human-autonomy shared control (e.g., in assistive robotics and automated driving) using EEG at 1kHz, and will allow detection (within 200m) and augmented perception through fusion of the LiDAR and radar data at 20 Hz at each unit (i.e., Edge Computing). The integrated monitoring system along with our existing infrastructure is unique to our cross-university team and establishes a world-class test facility for research on cooperative perception and human-autonomy interaction in dynamic environments in Canada. The equipment will leverage +$0.75 million CFI- and NSERC-funded facilities (on mobile robotics and neuroscience), will support +18 HQP, and will enable a diverse cross-university research program addressing scientific and applied challenges in three main Themes: 1) Networked Robotics: Enhance robot navigation for perceptually degraded conditions by designing learning-aided distributed estimators inspired by human attention. 2) Human-centered teleoperation: Develop safe teleoperation of mobile robots/vehicles in dynamic environments by studying operator behavior in such complex scenarios, subject to delay and loss of perception, and by forming cooperative controls around the human intent. The recent partnership between TELUS and the University of Alberta for a 5G-enabled living lab will be leveraged. 3) Assistive robotics: Improve personalization and safety by estimating user intent, exploring interactive cognition (a genuine breakthrough for co-designing learning modules and state observers), and developing situation-aware controls in rollators for users with cognitive impairment. The monitoring system will further enable a host of interdisciplinary research activities to expand infrastructure usage as a core facility, through the current and new faculty members and HQP from control engineering, psychology, and computer science disciplines, to sustain future growth of research activities, and to support Canadian robotic and AI industries. The strong integration of the program with social and cognitive sciences and our established EDI policies will provide strong means for unbiased and equitable hiring in those disciplines. The program will offer strong training to HQP through: advanced theoretical/technical and professional development training and standardized internships. This will promote rigorous methodologies, enhanced research culture, and impactful outcomes in the program. A delay in acquiring such crucial equipment will constrain scientific potentials for the current cross-university projects and will reduce HQP training.