Guide robot's navigation based on attention estimation using gaze information

Abstract

In this paper, we describe a robotic wheelchair system as guide robot To build a smart interface for a guide robot, it is important for the system to know the user's attention. This system can detect gaze direction of the user using a real-time stereo vision system, and can recognize its position within the surrounding environment using a range sensor and a map. Based on the detection of both the gaze direction and the position within the map, the robotic wheelchair can estimate the user's fixation, from which the position where the user is paying attention is estimated. We adopt an attention representation based on histogram. The frequency of fixation is represented by an "attention histogram". Experimental results indicate the validity of the control assistance to change the route of the autonomous run using the estimation of user's attention.