Rescue Robot Project (Human Robot Interaction)
Anet E. Potgieter, Stephen Marais · 2011
This paper discusses the development of a User interface of a rescue robot from the design stages to the release stages. This interface will allow operators to remotely communicate with a rescue robot being developed in the Duncan McMillan Robotics and Agents Lab in University of Cape Town. Each and every day humans live in fear of natural disasters and accidents happening in their lives. In those situations victims may be trapped in places that are dangerous and inaccessible by rescue teams because rescue team members also have to conscious of their own safety. In situations like those, a rescue robot comes to play and goes in those confined environments to save the victims. Robots that are currently being built are not fully independent and need to be operated by a user. To operate the robot a user has to be presented with a usable, user friendly, user-centered and efficient interface in order to effectively communicate/ control the rescue robot and save lives. Because this involves the communication between humans and robots, the development of this system is primarily a Human Robot Interaction (HRI) problem. To solve this problem an iterative and incremental approach was adopted. This entailed involving users from the first stages of design until the system is complete. This involved three iterations of the system design. Each design was improved upon feedback obtained from the users in the iterations. User testing that was done proved that a user centered and usable system can help rescue teams save lives efficiently and this justifies further research.