PROJECT TITLE :

The Effect of Trial-by-Trial Adaptation on Conflicts in Haptic Shared Control for Free-Air Teleoperation Tasks

ABSTRACT:

Haptic shared control will improve execution of teleoperation and driving tasks. However, shared control designs might suffer from conflicts between individual human operators and constant haptic assistance when their desired trajectories differ, leading to momentarily increased forces, discomfort, or perhaps deteriorated performance. This study investigates ways in which to scale back conflicts between individual human operators and a haptic shared controller by modifying supported trajectories. Subjects (n=12) performed a repetitive movement task in an abstract setting with varying spatio-temporal constraints, each throughout manual management and while supported by haptic shared control. Four varieties of haptic shared control were compared, combining 2 design properties: the initial supported trajectory (either the centerline of the surroundings or an individualized trajectory based mostly on manual control trials), and trial-by-trial adaptation of steering towards previously performed trajectories (either present or absent). Trial-by-trial adaptation of steerage reduced conflicts compared to non-adaptive steerage, whether the initial trajectory was individualized or not. Without trial-by-trial adaptation, individualized trajectories conjointly reduced conflicts, but not utterly: when guided, operators adapt their most popular trajectories. In conclusion, trial-by-trial adaptation is the foremost promising approach to mitigate conflicts throughout repetitive motion tasks.