Abstract:
In robot telemanipulation tasks, the robot itself can sometimes occlude a target object from the user’s view. We investigate the potential of diminished reality to address this problem. Our method uses an optical see-through head-mounted display to create a diminished reality illusion that the robot is transparent, allowing users to see occluded areas behind the robot. To investigate benefits and drawbacks of robot transparency, we conducted a user study that examined diminished reality in a simple telemanipulation task involving both occluded and unoccluded targets. We discovered that while these visualizations show promise for reducing user effort, there are drawbacks in terms of task efficiency and user preference. We identified several friction points in user experiences with diminished reality interfaces. Finally, we describe several design trade-offs among different visualization options.

Committee:
Prof. Henny Admoni (Chair)
Prof. Reid Simmons
Prof. Kris Kitani
Allie Del Giorno