Metrics for human driving of multiple robots

Abstract

A goal of human-robot interaction is to expand the capability of human beings so that they can control multiple robots simultaneously. This provides leverage for human attention beyond single robot interaction. The number of such robots that can be operated is called the fan-out of a human-robot team. We define the concepts of neglect-tolerance as a measure of autonomy and interaction-effort as a measure of required human attention. A model for fan-out is presented that predicts a human's ability to control multiple robots. We validate this model using robot simulations and user studies. Using the validated model we demonstrate enhanced task performance on physical robots as predicted by the model.