Amir M. Naghsh

Analysis and design of human-robot swarm interaction in firefighting

In a variety of emergency settings robot assistance has been identified as highly valuable, providing remote, and thus safe, access and operation. There are many different forms of human-robot interactions, allowing a team of humans and robots to take advantage of skills of each team member. A relatively new area of research considers interactions between human and a team of robots performing as a swarm. This work is concerned with the interactive use of autonomous robots in fire emergency settings. In particular, we consider a swarm of robots that are capable of supporting and enhancing fire fighting operations co-operatively and we investigate how firefighters in the field work with such a swarm. This paper outlines some of the key characteristics of this emergency setting. It discusses possible forms of interactions with swarm robotics being examined in the GUARDIANS project. The paper addresses the use of assistive swarm robotics to support firefighters with navigation and search operations. It reports on existing firefighters operations and how human-swarm interactions are to be used during such operations. The design approaches for human-swarm interaction are described and the preliminary work in the area are outlined. The paper ends by linking current expertise with common features of emergency related interaction design.

A Robot Swarm assisting a Human Fire Fighter

Emergencies in industrial warehouses are a major concern for fire-fighters. The large dimensions, together with the development of dense smoke that drastically reduces visibility, represent major challenges. The GUARDIANS robot swarm is designed to assist fire-fighters in searching a large warehouse. In this paper we discuss the technology developed for a swarm of robots assisting fire-fighters. We explain the swarming algorithms that provide the functionality by which the robots react to and follow humans while no communication is required. Next we discuss the wireless communication system, which is a so-called mobile ad-hoc network. The communication network provides also the means to locate the robots and humans. Thus, the robot swarm is able to provide guidance information to the humans. Together with the fire-fighters we explored how the robot swarm should feed information back to the human fire-fighter. We have designed and experimented with interfaces for presenting swarm-based information to human beings.

Distributed participatory design

Over the years a consensus has developed that involving users directly in the software development process can lead to more useful and usable systems. This has found its clearest expression in the Participatory Design (PD) movement. However, a limitation of PD is that it has primarily focused on project stakeholders being co-located, whereas in recent years we are starting to see software development projects involve more distributed collaborations. This workshop is aimed at researchers and practitioners with an interest to overcome the challenges of performing PD in distributed design teams. Several critical issues need examination in order to understand the usefulness and constraints of distributed participatory design (DPD).

Designing user interaction with robots swarms in emergency settings

In this paper, we describe the development processes adopted for effective human centred design in the context of developing a human robot interface. The human robot interaction context is that of a working with a swarm of autonomous robots being developed to assist the process of search and rescue as carried out by fire fighters. The paper illustrates an approach to early design evaluation motivated by user centred design objectives. The conclusion from the study illustrates the value of early experiential feedback. In particular we show that the complex nature of professional practice in the high risk settings has significant influences upon the fitness for purpose.

User interfaces for human robot interactions with a swarm of robots in support to firefighters

There are many different forms of human-robot interactions, allowing a team of humans and robots to take advantage of skills of each team member. A developing area of research is focused upon the potential of robot swarms working in emergency settings. In particular we consider a swarm of robots that are capable of supporting and enhancing fire fighting operations co-operatively. This paper outlines some of the key characteristics of this emergency setting, robot swarms within it and the work conducted to develop effective human-robot interaction.

Investigating annotation in electronic paper-prototypes

Many design activities depend on communicative activities around collaboratively produced prototypes. A common communication practice in producing text documents is to add annotation in the form of comments. Previous research indicates that electronic paper-prototyping can be used to rapidly create simple prototypes of interactive systems, such as websites. Little is known, however, about how to provide and maintain variety of communication channels around such electronic paper-prototypes to enable end-users and other stakeholders to contribute to design dialogues. This paper presents Gabbeh, an electronic paper-prototyping tool, and reports on an evaluation using the tool in a simulated design exercise.

Cooperative navigation and integration of a human into multi-robot system

In the recent years, considerable research efforts have been conducted towards the control of a group of autonomous robots. A human moving cooperatively with a group of robots could as well broadly benefit in several applications (e.g. search and rescue operations). The key focus of this study is to investigate the inclusion of a human in the multi-robot system and consequently the robot motion coordination.

REMOTE AND IN-SITU MULTIROBOT INTERACTION FOR FIREFIGHTERS INTERVENTIONS UNDER SMOKE CONDITIONS*

Abstract This paper describes a real-world demonstration that involves two kinds of human-robot interaction: (1) In-situ interaction between a team of robots and a firefighter, and (2) the interaction between a remote operator and the whole system from a base station. The team of robots can provide the firefighter with environmental information to support and enhance its operation in situations where smoke can be present. First of all, the paper describes the overall system, focusing on the devices that are used, and the hardware/software architecture. Then, the paper explains the in-situ human-system interaction which is the way the firefighter interacts with the robot team, by obtaining the information directly to its helmet and by setting up a firefighter following behaviour using both laser and sonar/radio techniques. After that, the paper describes the way the whole system can be monitored and controlled remotely via a base station.