Iina Aaltonen

Hidden roles of the train driver: A challenge for metro automation

Abstract In the year 2014, the Helsinki Metro is planned to be fully automated. This automation means that the metro trains will be computer-driven and monitored remotely from a stationary control room. To investigate the challenges related to this scenario, we decided to study the ways in which the current train drivers contribute to the metro system. We conducted three separate but interrelated studies, which were based on the Core-Task Analysis method. Our results suggest that there is much more to driving the metro train than meets the eye. The drivers do not only operate the train on track and its doors at stations, but they also contribute to a variety of other important, albeit more hidden, functions in the metro system. For example, the drivers anticipate, observe, interpret, and react to events in the surrounding environment. Furthermore, they are a significant interaction link between different actors of the metro system. Our conclusion is that if the identified critical roles of the drivers are not accounted for, a migration to a fully automated metro system can affect the quality of service and raise safety issues. In addition to automated metros, the results of this research can be applicable to automation implementations also in other domains.

Use of wearable and augmented reality technologies in industrial maintenance work

Industrial maintenance is an increasingly complex and knowledge intensive field. Although new technologies in maintenance have been studied extensively, their usage is still lacking in the industry. We have studied knowledge-sharing solutions using augmented reality (AR) and wearable technologies in actual industry cases to find out if maintenance technicians find them useful and usable in their everyday work. Two test cases were included: the use of a wearable system consisting of three devices in the crane industry, and the use of AR guidance in the marine industry. In both cases two maintenance technicians tested the technologies and data were collected using questionnaires, interviews and observation. The maintenance technicians were positive towards the use of these technologies in their work. However, some practical issues were raised concerning the simultaneous use of multiple devices and the placement of the devices. A more system-level approach to designing wearable and AR technologies could be applied to ensure their utility in the field. Findings from this study can be used when designing and implementing wearable and AR technologies in maintenance, but also in other industry domains like the manufacturing industry.

Hello Pepper, May I Tickle You?: Children's and Adults' Responses to an Entertainment Robot at a Shopping Mall

We took a social robot Pepper to a shopping mall for one day to see what kind of initial responses it draws from people. We observed that the robot was quickly surrounded by children when there were others-especially adults-interacting with it. The children seemed to especially enjoy the activity-related applications, such as tickling the robot or giving a high-five. Adults were interested in hearing about useful applications and tended to talk to the robot as if it were any machine capable of speech recognition. These observations will help to design more interactive and entertaining applications for shopping mall robots.

Field evaluation of a wearable multimodal soldier navigation system

Challenging environments pose difficulties for terrain navigation, and therefore wearable and multimodal navigation systems have been proposed to overcome these difficulties. Few such navigation systems, however, have been evaluated in field conditions. We evaluated how a multimodal system can aid in navigating in a forest in the context of a military exercise. The system included a head-mounted display, headphones, and a tactile vibrating vest. Visual, auditory, and tactile modalities were tested and evaluated using unimodal, bimodal, and trimodal conditions. Questionnaires, interviews and observations were used to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each modality and their multimodal use. The guidance was considered easy to interpret and helpful in navigation. Simplicity of the displayed information was required, which was partially conflicting with the request for having both distance and directional information available.

Multimodality Evaluation Metrics for Human-Robot Interaction Needed: A Case Study in Immersive Telerobotics

Multimodal, wearable technologies have the potential to enable a completely immersive teleoperation experience, which can be beneficial for a number of teleoperated robotic applications. To gain the full benefit of these technologies, understanding the user perspective of human-robot interaction (HRI) is of special relevance for highly advanced telerobotic systems in the future. In telerobotics research, however, the complex nature of multimodal interaction has not attracted much attention. We studied HRI with a wearable multimodal control system used for teleoperating a mobile robot, and recognized a need for evaluation metrics for multimodality. In the case study, questionnaires, interviews, observations and video analysis were used to evaluate usability, ergonomics, immersion, and the nature of multimodal interaction. Although the technical setup was challenging, our findings provide insights to the design and evaluation of user interaction of future immersive teleoperation systems. We propose new HRI evaluation metrics: Type of multimodal interaction and Wearability.

Human operator trust in autonomic functionalities

Motivation -- To shed light on the conceptions of human network operators about autonomic functionalities and the determinants of trust regarding future autonomic networks. Research approach -- An interview study with 33 human operators at non-managerial level was performed. The interview consisted of 19 questions related to various aspects of autonomic functionalities. Findings/Design -- Several components of trust and distrust for autonomic functionalities were found. Distrust based on assumed failure of the functionalities was the most prominent negative feature. The possibility to concentrate on more demanding tasks was the most surprising positive feature. Research limitations/Implications -- Only 33 human operators from two telecom companies participated in the study, which limits the possible generalisation of the findings. Originality/Value -- The research makes a contribution to the scarce amount of publications on human aspect in telecommunication domain. Take away message -- Trust-related factors can be used for identifying and extracting general requirements for future tools from the user point of view.

Digital Human Models in Human Factors and Ergonomics Evaluation of Gesture Interfaces

Gesture-based interfaces are becoming a widely used interaction modality in many industrial applications. Therefore, it is important to guarantee usable and ergonomic interfaces for workers. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the use of digital human models (DHMs) by human factors/ergonomics (HFE) experts can complement the user evaluation of gesture interface prototypes. Two case studies were conducted, in which gesture-based systems for remote robot control were evaluated. The results indicate that the use of DHMs supports the findings from self-reported HFE evaluations. However, digital human modeling still has some limitations. For example, in this study, it was not possible to evaluate small muscle groups (e.g. fingers). We argue that adaptation of the DHMs could be a rapid and simple alternative for supporting the HFE design of gestures.

Envisioning robotic surgery: Surgeons' needs and views on interacting with future technologies and interfaces

The development of technology in robotic surgery is typically presented from a technical perspective. This study considers the user perspective as an input to the development of technology by exploring potential solutions within and beyond the field of robotic surgery.

A Telepresence Robot in Residential Care: Family Increasingly Present, Personnel Worried About Privacy

Elderly people moving into assisted living facilities often face profound changes in their daily routines and social relationships, which may lead to feelings of social isolation and even to depression. Telepresence robots can alleviate this by enabling easily accessible virtual presence of family members and other close ones at the ward. Telepresence robots have been tested in different care environments with often positive responses, but there are still challenges, both technical and non-technical, that hinder the wider adoption of the robots in residential care settings. We seek for more understanding of the non-technical challenges by studying the use of a telepresence robot Double in a residential care facility. In a 12-week field trial, we installed a telepresence robot in a room of a long-term care home resident for communicating with her family members. The qualitative interview data included the perspectives of the resident, her family members and care workers at the ward. The results confirm the potential of telepresence robots in assisted living in order to increase the presence of family members to the resident and vice versa; the study also provides insight about how the increased presence of family members may affect the care work.

Coping with the demands of network management by autonomic functionalities and training

Telecommunication has experienced a rapid expansion with a huge increase in the amount of users, content, and utilized technologies. Consequently, the management of telecom networks has become more challenging. In this study, we have investigated what the demands of the domain are from the perspective of the professionals managing the network. Specifically, we have studied how the demands could be coped with by introducing autonomic network management functionalities or advanced training. The study is based on an extensive interview material about the demands of the telecom network management domain. We conclude that the challenges of the domain are originating both from humans and technology and the remedies vary accordingly. Autonomic functionalities and training could, however, mitigate several challenges found in the domain.