Teams organization and performance in multi-human/multi-robot teams

Abstract

We are developing a theory for human control of robot teams based on considering how control varies across different task allocations. Our current work focuses on domains such as foraging in which robots perform largely independent tasks. The present study addresses the interaction between automation and organization of human teams in controlling large robot teams performing an Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) task. We identify three subtasks: perceptual search-visual search for victims, assistance-teleoperation to assist robot, and navigation-path planning and coordination. For the studies reported here, navigation was selected for automation because it involves weak dependencies among robots making it more complex and because it was shown in an earlier experiment to be the most difficult. Two possible ways to organize operators were identified as assignment of robots to particular operators or as a shared pool in which operators service robots from the population as needed. The experiment compares two member teams of operators controlling teams of 12 robots each in the assigned robots conditions or sharing control of 24 robots in the shared pool conditions using either waypoint control or autonomous path planning. We identify three self organizing team strategies in the shared pool condition: joint control operators share full authority over robots, mixed control in which one operator takes primary control while the other acts as an assistant, and split control in which operators divide the robots with each controlling a subteam. Automating path planning improved system performance. Effects of team organization favored operator teams who shared authority for the pool of robots.