Robot teleoperation, i.e., human operators manipulating and/or commanding a remote robotic system at a distance, is particularly suited to converge the advantages of robotic systems and human agents in operation and maintenance tasks. However, existing human-robot interaction (HRI) designs for teleoperation tasks are challenged by the complexity and variability of operational needs such as the evolving work environment, unpredictable workflows, and precision requirements in dexterous tasks. The gap between the robotic perception and human sensory processes makes it challenging for human operators to acquire embodied cognition, such as estimating the force needed for an action. This presentation introduces an innovative embodied robot teleoperation interaction approach called human-robot sensory transfer. Based on virtual telepresence and sensory augmentation, human-robot sensory transfer can convert robot sensor data into human-perceivable sensations. It includes simulating sensor data that can be considered novel and alien to humans, such as hydrodynamic, thermal, radiative and pressure changes as haptic and visual feedback. This presentation will cover several on-going projects to explain how the proposed approach can help lower mental and motor barriers in complex teleoperation tasks. How the embodied teleoperation will transform the future of teleworking will also be discussed.
About Dr. Eric Jing Du
Dr. Eric Jing Du is an associate professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, and the Department of Industrial and System Engineering (affiliate) in the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, University of Florida. Before joining University of Florida in January 2019, he was a faculty member at Texas A&M University, and a senior production analyst at Zachry Industrial in San Antonio, TX. His primary area of research is human-robot collaboration for complex industrial operations. His ongoing projects involve the use of Mixed Reality and haptic stimulation to enhance physical embodiment in robot teleoperation. With his colleagues, Dr.Du has secured more than $12 million in federal funding from National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), with more than $5 million directly attributed to him. Dr. Du has published more than 130 referred journal and conference papers, including several best paper awards from high impact journals. Dr.Du is the elected Secretary of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Visualization, Information Modeling and Simulation (VIMS) committee, and serves on the editorial board of three journals. Dr.Du received his PhD degree in construction engineering from Michigan State University (2012), master’s degree in Enterprise Management (2007) and bachelor degree in Civil Engineering (2004), both from Tianjin University in China.