Matthew Rueben

Optical Measurements of Tsunami Inundation and Debris Movement in a Large-Scale Wave Basin

AbstractThis paper presents optical measurements of debris movement and tsunami inundation over an unobstructed beach in a laboratory wave basin. The debris consisted of rectangular boxes and was placed unconstrained on a flat section raised above the basin floor with no still water on the raised section. Debris movement was measured using two overhead video cameras and a novel object-tracking algorithm. Two standard optical techniques, wave edge detection and particle image velocimetry, were used to compare optical and in situ measurements of fluid velocity. The debris motion (position, velocity) in the onshore direction was found to be repeatable, but the offshore motion varied between trials because of the irregular nature of the flow field during the return. For debris in free translation, as the number of debris specimens increased, the peak average velocity decreased and the onset of the peak was delayed in the onshore direction. In the offshore direction, the velocity was lower by a factor 4–6 and ...

Using Video Manipulation to Protect Privacy in Remote Presence Systems

Remote presence systems that allow remote operators to physically move around the world, observe it, and, in some cases, manipulate it, introduce a new set of privacy concerns. Traditional telepresence systems allow remote users to passively observe, forcing them to look at whatever the camera is pointing at. If we want something to remain private, then we simply do not put it in front of the camera. Remote presence systems, on the other hand, allow active observation, and put the control of the camera in the hands of the remote operator. They can drive around, and look at the world from different viewpoints, which complicates privacy protection.

Privacy, Utility, and Cognitive Load in Remote Presence Systems

As teleoperated robot technology becomes cheaper, more powerful, and more reliable, remotely-operated telepresence robots will become more prevalent in homes and businesses, allowing visitors and business partners to be present without the need to travel. Hindering adoption is the issue of privacy: an Internet-connected telepresence robot has the ability to spy on its local area, either for the remote operator or a third party with access to the video data. Additionally, since the remote operator may move about and manipulate objects without local-user intervention, certain typical privacy-protecting techniques such as moving objects to a different room or putting them in a cabinet may prove insufficient. In this paper, we examine the effects of three whole-image filters on the remote operators ability to discern details while completing a navigation task.

A Method for Establishing Correspondences Between Hand-Drawn and Sensor-Generated Maps

Maps, and specifically floor plans, are useful for planning a variety of tasks from arranging furniture to designating conceptual or functional spaces (e.g., kitchen, walkway). However, maps generated directly from robot sensor data can be hard to interpret and use for this purpose, especially for individuals who are not used to them, because of sensor and odometry measurement errors and the probabilistic nature of the mapping algorithms themselves. In this paper, we present an algorithm for quickly laying a floor plan (or other conceptual map) onto a map generated from sensor data, creating a one-to-one mapping between the two This allows humans interacting with the robot to use a more readily-understandable representation of the world, while the robot itself uses the sensor-generated map.

Context-Aware Assistive Interfaces for Persons with Severe Motor Disabilities

Persons with severe motor disabilities have a great need for assistive robots, but also struggle to communicate these needs in ways that a robot can understand. I propose an interface that will make it possible to communicate with robots using limited movements. This will be done using contextual information from the robots semantic model of the world. I also describe the state-of-the-art hardware and personal collaborations that equip our lab for this research. Assistive robotic interfaces also evoke concerns that a robot could violate personal privacy expectations, particularly if a remote operator can see the robots video stream. This is especially important for persons with disabilities because it may be harder for them to monitor the robots whereabouts. I describe ongoing work on two interfaces that help make it possible for robots to be privacy conscious. Answers for privacy concerns need to be developed alongside the new interface technologies prior to in-home deployment.

A Shared Autonomy Interface for Household Devices

As robots begin to enter our homes and workplaces, they will have to deal with the devices and appliances that are already there. Unfortunately, devices that are easy for humans to operate often cause problems for robots [3]. In teleoperation settings, the lack of tactile feedback often makes manipulation of buttons and switches awkward and clumsy [7]. Also, the robots gripper often occludes the control, making teleoperation difficult. In the autonomous setting, perception of small buttons and switches is often difficult due to sensor limitations and poor lighting conditions. Adding depth information does not help much, since many of the controls we want to manipulate are small, and often close to the noise threshold of currently-available depth sensors typically installed on a mobile robot. This makes it extremely difficult to segment the controls from the other parts of the device. In this paper, we present a shared autonomy approach to the operation of physical device controls. A human operator gives high-level guidance, helps identify controls and their locations, and sequences the actions of the robot. Autonomous software on our robot performs the lower-level actions that require closed-loop control, and estimates the exact positions and parameters of controls. We describe the overall system, and then give the results of our initial evaluations, which suggest that the system is effective in operating the controls on a physical device.

Privacy and Telepresence Robotics: What do Non-scientists Think?

As the study of privacy specific to Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) develops, there is a need for empirical background work that is outside of the academic echo-chamber. This study aims to create a participatory discussion about privacy and how it should be addressed in a future with telepresence robots. In this short paper, we deliver some of the scientifically interesting topics our focus groups discussed and provide basic understanding of how telepresence systems are viewed by non-researchers.

Privacy-Sensitive Robotics

As robots start to enter our everyday lives, they will bring with them the risk of privacy invasions. Unlike videoconferencing, we might not have control of where the sensors on our robots look, and where the robots go. They might operating in or homes and offices while we are not there, opening the door to an invasion of our privacy that no previous technology has been capable of. How do people think about privacy in terms of robots? Are they worried about their privacy being violated and, if so, in what ways? How does the law view the issues around privacy and robotics? What are the pressing questions that we need to address now, before its too late. This workshop will bring together researchers from a wide variety of communities to look at these questions, identify others, and help define the new area of Privacy-Sensitive Robotics. The workshop will result in a white paper that defines the pressing issues in Privacy-Sensitive Robotics, from a variety of perspectives, and will suggest a research agenda to address these problems.

User Feedback on Physical Marker Interfaces for Protecting Visual Privacy from Mobile Robots

We present a study that examines the efficiency and usability of three different interfaces for specifying which objects should be kept private (i.e., not visible) in an office environment. Our study context is a robot “janitor” system that has the ability to blur out specified objects from its video feed. One interface is a traditional point-and-click GUI on a computer monitor, while the other two operate in the real, physical space: users either place markers on the objects to indicate privacy or use a wand tool to point at them. This late-breaking report presents qualitative feedback from users for improving the interfaces.

Shared Autonomy Perception and Manipulation of Physical Device Controls

As robots begin to enter our homes and workplaces, they will have to deal with the devices and appliances that are already there. These devices are invariably designed with human perception and manipulation abilities in mind. Unfortunately, this often makes them hard for robots to interact with autonomously. Control elements, such as buttons, switches, and knobs, are often hard to identify with current sensors. Even when they are found, it is often not clear how they should be manipulated to achieve a specific goal without extensive background knowledge of the specific device and task.