Samuel Olatunji | Ben Gurion University of the Negev (original) (raw)
Papers by Samuel Olatunji
Feedback design is an important aspect of person-following robots for older adults. This paper pr... more Feedback design is an important aspect of person-following robots for older adults. This paper presents a user-centred design approach to ensure the design is focused on the needs and preferences of the users. A sequence of user studies with a total of 35 older adults (aged 62 years and older) was conducted to explore their preferences regarding feedback parameters for a socially assistive person-following robot. The preferred level of robot transparency and the desired content for the feedback was first explored. This was followed by an assessment of the preferred mode and timing of feedback. The chosen feedback parameters were then implemented and evaluated in a final experiment to evaluate the effectiveness of the design. Results revealed that older adults preferred to receive only basic status information. They preferred voice feedback overtone, and at a continuous rate to keep them constantly aware of the state and actions of the robot. The outcome of the study is a further ste...
Person-following is an important aspect in many service robotic applications whilst supporting a ... more Person-following is an important aspect in many service robotic applications whilst supporting a person in performing daily tasks. Few studies have actively worked towards making person-following behaviour usable, pleasurable or personal. As such, user studies are essential for promoting interaction design and increase user satisfaction and acceptance. A specific experimental setup for studying socially acceptable person-following preferences and algorithmic design is presented here. In six user studies (171 participants in total) following-related factors were examined, of those, two related to environmental influence are specified here. Objective and subjective measurement of the quality of the interaction and user satisfaction were taken. Results and implications are discussed.
ACM Transactions on Human-Robot Interaction
Caregivers in eldercare can benefit from telepresence robots that allow them to perform a variety... more Caregivers in eldercare can benefit from telepresence robots that allow them to perform a variety of tasks remotely. In order for such robots to be operated effectively and efficiently by non-technical users, it is important to examine if and how the robotic system’s level of automation (LOA) impacts their performance. The objective of this work was to develop suitable LOA modes for a mobile robotic telepresence (MRP) system for eldercare and assess their influence on users’ performance, workload, awareness of the environment, and usability at two different levels of task complexity. For this purpose, two LOA modes were implemented on the MRP platform: assisted teleoperation (low LOA mode) and autonomous navigation (high LOA mode). The system was evaluated in a user study with 20 participants, who, in the role of the caregiver, navigated the robot through a home-like environment to perform control and perception tasks. Results revealed that performance improved in the high LOA when ...
Applied Sciences
This study explored how levels of automation (LOA) influence human robot collaboration when opera... more This study explored how levels of automation (LOA) influence human robot collaboration when operating at different levels of workload. Two LOA modes were designed, implemented, and evaluated in an experimental collaborative assembly task setup for four levels of workload composed of a secondary task and task complexity. A user study conducted involving 80 participants was assessed through two constructs especially designed for the evaluation (quality of task execution and usability) and user preferences regarding the LOA modes. Results revealed that the quality of task execution and usability was better at high LOA for low workload. Most of participants also preferred high LOA when the workload increases. However, when complexity existed within the workload, most of the participants preferred the low LOA. The results reveal the benefits of high and low LOA in different workload situations. This study provides insights related to shared control designs and reveals the importance of c...
A sequence of user studies with older adults explored user preferences regarding feedback paramet... more A sequence of user studies with older adults explored user preferences regarding feedback parameters for a socially assistive person-following robot. The preferred level of transparency and the desired content for the feedback was first explored. Then, the preferred mode and timing of feedback were assessed. Preferred parameters were then implemented and evaluated. Results revealed that older adults preferred the robot's feedback to include only basic status information. They also preferred voice feedback over tone, and at a continuous rate to keep them constantly aware of the state and actions of the robot. These results contribute towards preliminary feedback design guidelines that could improve interaction quality for person-following robots for older adults. Keywords—Feedback design, person-following, socially assistive robots, human-robot interaction.
ArXiv, 2021
This study provides user-studies aimed at exploring factors influencing the interaction between o... more This study provides user-studies aimed at exploring factors influencing the interaction between older adults and a robotic table setting assistant. The in-fluence of the level of automation (LOA) and level of transparency (LOT) on the quality of the interaction was considered. Results revealed that the interaction effect of LOA and LOT significantly influenced the interaction. A lower LOA which required the user to control some of the actions of the robot influenced the older adults to participate more in the interaction when the LOT was low com-pared to situations with higher LOT (more information) and higher LOA (more robot autonomy). Even though the higher LOA influenced more fluency in the interaction, the lower LOA encouraged a more collaborative form of interaction which is a priority in the design of robotic aids for older adult users. The results provide some insights into shared control designs which accommodates the preferences of the older adult users as they interact with robotic aids such as the table setting robot used in this study.
Aiming to explore the impact of politeness on Human-Robot Interaction, this study tested varying ... more Aiming to explore the impact of politeness on Human-Robot Interaction, this study tested varying levels of politeness in a human-robot collaborative table setting task. Polite behavior was designed based on Lakoff’s politeness rules. A graphical user interface was developed for the interaction with the robot offering three levels of politeness, and an experiment was conducted with 20 older adults and 30 engineering students. Results indicated that the quality of interaction was influenced by politeness as participants significantly preferred the robot’s polite mode. However, the older adults were less able to distinguish between the three politeness levels. Future studies should thus include preexperiment training to increase older adults’ familiarity with robotic technology. These studies should also include other permutations of Lakoff’s politeness rules.
Older adults' interaction with robots requires effective feedback to keep them aware of the s... more Older adults' interaction with robots requires effective feedback to keep them aware of the state of the interaction for optimum interaction quality. This study examines the effect of different feedback modalities in a table setting robot assistant for elder care. Two different feedback modalities (visual and auditory) and their combination were evaluated for three complexity levels. The visual feedback included the use of LEDs and a GUI screen. The auditory feedback included alerts (beeps) and verbal commands. The results revealed that the quality of interaction was influenced mainly by the feedback modality, and complexity had less influence. The verbal feedback was significantly preferable and increased the participants’ involvement during the experiment. The combination of LED lights and verbal commands increased participants' understanding contributing to the quality of interaction.
Towards Autonomous Robotic Systems
International Journal of Social Robotics
Physical exercise has many physical, psychological and social health benefits leading to improved... more Physical exercise has many physical, psychological and social health benefits leading to improved life quality. This paper presents a robotic system developed as a personal coach for older adults aiming to motivate older adults to participate in physical activities. The robot instructs the participants, demonstrates the exercises and provides real-time corrective and positive feedback according to the participant’s performance as monitored by an RGB-D camera. Two robotic systems based on two different humanoid robots (Nao, toy-like and Poppy, mechanical-like) were developed and implemented using the Python programming language. Experimental studies with 32 older adults were conducted, to determine the preferable mode and timing of the feedback provided to the user to accommodate user preferences, motivate the users and improve their interaction with the system. Additionally, user preferences with regards to the two different humanoid robots used were explored. The results revealed t...
Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting
Mobile robotic telepresence (MRP) systems feature a video conferencing interface on a mobile robo... more Mobile robotic telepresence (MRP) systems feature a video conferencing interface on a mobile robot, enabling pilot users to remotely control the robot while communicating with a local user. For older adults in an assisted living facility, the operators are mostly caregivers or remote family members. This small-sample usability testing aimed to evaluate the use of MRP by the older adult. Participants navigated the robot to locations in the home, e.g., to check if the front-door is closed. Two levels of automation were introduced; assisted teleoperation and autonomous. Observations revealed that the older adults enjoyed the dexterity with which the robot could be teleoperated in the assisted teleoperation mode. Yet, they preferred the operation of the MRP at the autonomous mode where the robot navigated autonomously towards the locations the user indicated. Usability, preference and objective findings raise awareness regarding elder care assistive robot developmental factors. Future e...
Social Robotics
This study provides user-studies aimed at exploring factors influencing the interaction between o... more This study provides user-studies aimed at exploring factors influencing the interaction between older adults and a robotic table setting assistant. The influence of level of automation (LOA) and level of transparency (LOT) on the quality of the interaction was considered. Results revealed that the interaction effect of LOA and LOT significantly influenced the interaction. A lower LOA which required the user to control some of the actions of the robot influenced the older adults to participate more in the interaction when the LOT was low compared to situations with higher LOT (more information) and higher LOA (more robot autonomy). Even though, the higher LOA influenced more fluency in the interaction, the lower LOA encouraged a more collaborative form of interaction which is a priority in the design of robotic aids for older adult users. The results provide some insights into shared control designs which accommodates the preferences of the older adult users as they interact with robotic aids such as the table setting robot used in this study
IEEE Transactions on Cognitive and Developmental Systems
Significant research and development has been invested in technical issues related to person foll... more Significant research and development has been invested in technical issues related to person following. However, a systematic approach for designing robotic person-following behavior that maintains appropriate social conventions across contexts has not yet been developed. To understand why this may be the case, an in-depth literature review of 221 articles on person-following robots was performed, from which 107 are referenced. From these papers, six relevant topics were identified that shed light on the types of social interactions that have been studied in person-following scenarios: 1) applications; 2) robotic systems; 3) environments; 4) following strategies; 5) human–robot communication; and 6) evaluation methods. Gaps in the existing research on person-following robots were identified, mainly in addressing social interaction and user needs, noting that only 25 articles reported proper user studies. Human-related, robot-related, task-related, and environment-related factors that are likely to influence people’s spatial preferences and expectations of a robot’s person-following behavior are then discussed. To guide the design of socially aware person following robots, a user-needs layered design framework that combines the four factor categories is proposed. The framework provides a systematic way to incorporate social considerations in the design of person-following robots. Finally, framework limitations and future challenges in the field are presented and discussed.
IEEE Transactions on Human-Machine Systems
It is important to encourage older adults to remain active when interacting with assistive robots... more It is important to encourage older adults to remain active when interacting with assistive robots. This study proposes a schematic model for integrating levels of automation (LOAs) and transparency (LoTs) in assistive robots to match the preferences and expectations of older adults. Metrics to evaluate LOA and LoT design combinations are defined. We develop two distinctive test cases to examine interaction design considerations for robots working for this population in everyday tasks: a person-following task with a mobile robot and a table-setting task with a robot manipulator. Evaluations in user studies with older adults reveal that LOA and LoT combinations influence interaction elements. Low LOA and high LoT encouraged activity engagement while receiving adequate information regarding the robot's behavior. The variety of objective and subjective metrics is essential to provide a holistic framework for evaluating the interaction. Index Terms-Assistive robots (ARs), human-robot interaction, interaction design, level of automation (LOA), level of transparency (LoT), older adults, socially ARs. I. BACKGROUND T HE GLOBAL population of older adults (aged 65+) is increasing rapidly without commensurate growth in people that can support them [1]. This shortage is creating an eldercare gap in which the scarcity of caregivers, social support, and healthcare professionals has left many in this group facing many barriers in aging [2]. Assistive robots (ARs) can help reduce these barriers, facilitate independence, and promote more successful aging (e.g., [3]-[5]). While there has been progress in AR design and development for many daily applications [6],
Paladyn, Journal of Behavioral Robotics
Feedback design is an important aspect in person-following robots for older adults. This paper pr... more Feedback design is an important aspect in person-following robots for older adults. This paper presents a user-centered design approach to ensure the design is focused on users’ needs and preferences. A sequence of user studies with a total of 35 older adults (aged 62 years and older) was conducted to explore their preferences regarding feedback parameters for a socially assistive person-following robot. The preferred level of robot transparency and the desired content for the feedback was first explored. This was followed by an assessment of the preferred mode and timing of feedback. The chosen feedback parameters were then implemented and evaluated in a final experiment to evaluate the effectiveness of the design. Results revealed that older adults preferred to receive only basic status information. They preferred voice feedback over tone, and at a continuous rate to keep them constantly aware of the state and actions of the robot. The outcome of the study is a further step toward...
Feedback design is an important aspect of person-following robots for older adults. This paper pr... more Feedback design is an important aspect of person-following robots for older adults. This paper presents a user-centred design approach to ensure the design is focused on the needs and preferences of the users. A sequence of user studies with a total of 35 older adults (aged 62 years and older) was conducted to explore their preferences regarding feedback parameters for a socially assistive person-following robot. The preferred level of robot transparency and the desired content for the feedback was first explored. This was followed by an assessment of the preferred mode and timing of feedback. The chosen feedback parameters were then implemented and evaluated in a final experiment to evaluate the effectiveness of the design. Results revealed that older adults preferred to receive only basic status information. They preferred voice feedback overtone, and at a continuous rate to keep them constantly aware of the state and actions of the robot. The outcome of the study is a further ste...
Person-following is an important aspect in many service robotic applications whilst supporting a ... more Person-following is an important aspect in many service robotic applications whilst supporting a person in performing daily tasks. Few studies have actively worked towards making person-following behaviour usable, pleasurable or personal. As such, user studies are essential for promoting interaction design and increase user satisfaction and acceptance. A specific experimental setup for studying socially acceptable person-following preferences and algorithmic design is presented here. In six user studies (171 participants in total) following-related factors were examined, of those, two related to environmental influence are specified here. Objective and subjective measurement of the quality of the interaction and user satisfaction were taken. Results and implications are discussed.
ACM Transactions on Human-Robot Interaction
Caregivers in eldercare can benefit from telepresence robots that allow them to perform a variety... more Caregivers in eldercare can benefit from telepresence robots that allow them to perform a variety of tasks remotely. In order for such robots to be operated effectively and efficiently by non-technical users, it is important to examine if and how the robotic system’s level of automation (LOA) impacts their performance. The objective of this work was to develop suitable LOA modes for a mobile robotic telepresence (MRP) system for eldercare and assess their influence on users’ performance, workload, awareness of the environment, and usability at two different levels of task complexity. For this purpose, two LOA modes were implemented on the MRP platform: assisted teleoperation (low LOA mode) and autonomous navigation (high LOA mode). The system was evaluated in a user study with 20 participants, who, in the role of the caregiver, navigated the robot through a home-like environment to perform control and perception tasks. Results revealed that performance improved in the high LOA when ...
Applied Sciences
This study explored how levels of automation (LOA) influence human robot collaboration when opera... more This study explored how levels of automation (LOA) influence human robot collaboration when operating at different levels of workload. Two LOA modes were designed, implemented, and evaluated in an experimental collaborative assembly task setup for four levels of workload composed of a secondary task and task complexity. A user study conducted involving 80 participants was assessed through two constructs especially designed for the evaluation (quality of task execution and usability) and user preferences regarding the LOA modes. Results revealed that the quality of task execution and usability was better at high LOA for low workload. Most of participants also preferred high LOA when the workload increases. However, when complexity existed within the workload, most of the participants preferred the low LOA. The results reveal the benefits of high and low LOA in different workload situations. This study provides insights related to shared control designs and reveals the importance of c...
A sequence of user studies with older adults explored user preferences regarding feedback paramet... more A sequence of user studies with older adults explored user preferences regarding feedback parameters for a socially assistive person-following robot. The preferred level of transparency and the desired content for the feedback was first explored. Then, the preferred mode and timing of feedback were assessed. Preferred parameters were then implemented and evaluated. Results revealed that older adults preferred the robot's feedback to include only basic status information. They also preferred voice feedback over tone, and at a continuous rate to keep them constantly aware of the state and actions of the robot. These results contribute towards preliminary feedback design guidelines that could improve interaction quality for person-following robots for older adults. Keywords—Feedback design, person-following, socially assistive robots, human-robot interaction.
ArXiv, 2021
This study provides user-studies aimed at exploring factors influencing the interaction between o... more This study provides user-studies aimed at exploring factors influencing the interaction between older adults and a robotic table setting assistant. The in-fluence of the level of automation (LOA) and level of transparency (LOT) on the quality of the interaction was considered. Results revealed that the interaction effect of LOA and LOT significantly influenced the interaction. A lower LOA which required the user to control some of the actions of the robot influenced the older adults to participate more in the interaction when the LOT was low com-pared to situations with higher LOT (more information) and higher LOA (more robot autonomy). Even though the higher LOA influenced more fluency in the interaction, the lower LOA encouraged a more collaborative form of interaction which is a priority in the design of robotic aids for older adult users. The results provide some insights into shared control designs which accommodates the preferences of the older adult users as they interact with robotic aids such as the table setting robot used in this study.
Aiming to explore the impact of politeness on Human-Robot Interaction, this study tested varying ... more Aiming to explore the impact of politeness on Human-Robot Interaction, this study tested varying levels of politeness in a human-robot collaborative table setting task. Polite behavior was designed based on Lakoff’s politeness rules. A graphical user interface was developed for the interaction with the robot offering three levels of politeness, and an experiment was conducted with 20 older adults and 30 engineering students. Results indicated that the quality of interaction was influenced by politeness as participants significantly preferred the robot’s polite mode. However, the older adults were less able to distinguish between the three politeness levels. Future studies should thus include preexperiment training to increase older adults’ familiarity with robotic technology. These studies should also include other permutations of Lakoff’s politeness rules.
Older adults' interaction with robots requires effective feedback to keep them aware of the s... more Older adults' interaction with robots requires effective feedback to keep them aware of the state of the interaction for optimum interaction quality. This study examines the effect of different feedback modalities in a table setting robot assistant for elder care. Two different feedback modalities (visual and auditory) and their combination were evaluated for three complexity levels. The visual feedback included the use of LEDs and a GUI screen. The auditory feedback included alerts (beeps) and verbal commands. The results revealed that the quality of interaction was influenced mainly by the feedback modality, and complexity had less influence. The verbal feedback was significantly preferable and increased the participants’ involvement during the experiment. The combination of LED lights and verbal commands increased participants' understanding contributing to the quality of interaction.
Towards Autonomous Robotic Systems
International Journal of Social Robotics
Physical exercise has many physical, psychological and social health benefits leading to improved... more Physical exercise has many physical, psychological and social health benefits leading to improved life quality. This paper presents a robotic system developed as a personal coach for older adults aiming to motivate older adults to participate in physical activities. The robot instructs the participants, demonstrates the exercises and provides real-time corrective and positive feedback according to the participant’s performance as monitored by an RGB-D camera. Two robotic systems based on two different humanoid robots (Nao, toy-like and Poppy, mechanical-like) were developed and implemented using the Python programming language. Experimental studies with 32 older adults were conducted, to determine the preferable mode and timing of the feedback provided to the user to accommodate user preferences, motivate the users and improve their interaction with the system. Additionally, user preferences with regards to the two different humanoid robots used were explored. The results revealed t...
Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting
Mobile robotic telepresence (MRP) systems feature a video conferencing interface on a mobile robo... more Mobile robotic telepresence (MRP) systems feature a video conferencing interface on a mobile robot, enabling pilot users to remotely control the robot while communicating with a local user. For older adults in an assisted living facility, the operators are mostly caregivers or remote family members. This small-sample usability testing aimed to evaluate the use of MRP by the older adult. Participants navigated the robot to locations in the home, e.g., to check if the front-door is closed. Two levels of automation were introduced; assisted teleoperation and autonomous. Observations revealed that the older adults enjoyed the dexterity with which the robot could be teleoperated in the assisted teleoperation mode. Yet, they preferred the operation of the MRP at the autonomous mode where the robot navigated autonomously towards the locations the user indicated. Usability, preference and objective findings raise awareness regarding elder care assistive robot developmental factors. Future e...
Social Robotics
This study provides user-studies aimed at exploring factors influencing the interaction between o... more This study provides user-studies aimed at exploring factors influencing the interaction between older adults and a robotic table setting assistant. The influence of level of automation (LOA) and level of transparency (LOT) on the quality of the interaction was considered. Results revealed that the interaction effect of LOA and LOT significantly influenced the interaction. A lower LOA which required the user to control some of the actions of the robot influenced the older adults to participate more in the interaction when the LOT was low compared to situations with higher LOT (more information) and higher LOA (more robot autonomy). Even though, the higher LOA influenced more fluency in the interaction, the lower LOA encouraged a more collaborative form of interaction which is a priority in the design of robotic aids for older adult users. The results provide some insights into shared control designs which accommodates the preferences of the older adult users as they interact with robotic aids such as the table setting robot used in this study
IEEE Transactions on Cognitive and Developmental Systems
Significant research and development has been invested in technical issues related to person foll... more Significant research and development has been invested in technical issues related to person following. However, a systematic approach for designing robotic person-following behavior that maintains appropriate social conventions across contexts has not yet been developed. To understand why this may be the case, an in-depth literature review of 221 articles on person-following robots was performed, from which 107 are referenced. From these papers, six relevant topics were identified that shed light on the types of social interactions that have been studied in person-following scenarios: 1) applications; 2) robotic systems; 3) environments; 4) following strategies; 5) human–robot communication; and 6) evaluation methods. Gaps in the existing research on person-following robots were identified, mainly in addressing social interaction and user needs, noting that only 25 articles reported proper user studies. Human-related, robot-related, task-related, and environment-related factors that are likely to influence people’s spatial preferences and expectations of a robot’s person-following behavior are then discussed. To guide the design of socially aware person following robots, a user-needs layered design framework that combines the four factor categories is proposed. The framework provides a systematic way to incorporate social considerations in the design of person-following robots. Finally, framework limitations and future challenges in the field are presented and discussed.
IEEE Transactions on Human-Machine Systems
It is important to encourage older adults to remain active when interacting with assistive robots... more It is important to encourage older adults to remain active when interacting with assistive robots. This study proposes a schematic model for integrating levels of automation (LOAs) and transparency (LoTs) in assistive robots to match the preferences and expectations of older adults. Metrics to evaluate LOA and LoT design combinations are defined. We develop two distinctive test cases to examine interaction design considerations for robots working for this population in everyday tasks: a person-following task with a mobile robot and a table-setting task with a robot manipulator. Evaluations in user studies with older adults reveal that LOA and LoT combinations influence interaction elements. Low LOA and high LoT encouraged activity engagement while receiving adequate information regarding the robot's behavior. The variety of objective and subjective metrics is essential to provide a holistic framework for evaluating the interaction. Index Terms-Assistive robots (ARs), human-robot interaction, interaction design, level of automation (LOA), level of transparency (LoT), older adults, socially ARs. I. BACKGROUND T HE GLOBAL population of older adults (aged 65+) is increasing rapidly without commensurate growth in people that can support them [1]. This shortage is creating an eldercare gap in which the scarcity of caregivers, social support, and healthcare professionals has left many in this group facing many barriers in aging [2]. Assistive robots (ARs) can help reduce these barriers, facilitate independence, and promote more successful aging (e.g., [3]-[5]). While there has been progress in AR design and development for many daily applications [6],
Paladyn, Journal of Behavioral Robotics
Feedback design is an important aspect in person-following robots for older adults. This paper pr... more Feedback design is an important aspect in person-following robots for older adults. This paper presents a user-centered design approach to ensure the design is focused on users’ needs and preferences. A sequence of user studies with a total of 35 older adults (aged 62 years and older) was conducted to explore their preferences regarding feedback parameters for a socially assistive person-following robot. The preferred level of robot transparency and the desired content for the feedback was first explored. This was followed by an assessment of the preferred mode and timing of feedback. The chosen feedback parameters were then implemented and evaluated in a final experiment to evaluate the effectiveness of the design. Results revealed that older adults preferred to receive only basic status information. They preferred voice feedback over tone, and at a continuous rate to keep them constantly aware of the state and actions of the robot. The outcome of the study is a further step toward...