Brief abstract of the dissertation
In this dissertation, in order to improving Situation Awareness, usefulnewss and
performance in a variety of navigation and exploration tasks, a prototype 3D interface
which presents multiple sets of information in a single correlated window is desinged
in comparison to conventional 2D interfaces which typically show different sets
of information in different windows.
Some previous work is discussed then the 3D interface was validated by a number
of user studies. The results of the studies show that the 3D interface to help operator
perform significantly better than a conventional 2D interface.
Finally, three design principles are presented and further work is mentioned.
Summary of each chapter
In chapter 1, the importance of the awareness of the environment around the robot
is emphasized. Then the issue of the Poor Situation Awareness issue is identified
and the solution is to design a prototype 3D interface which has the two major benefits:
a) related sets of information are combined and presented intuitively b) the operator
can see more of the environment through a larger field of view.
In chapter 2,previous work in Human-Robot Interactions is discussed and some definitions
and concepts are reviewed including some previous work and research results of Interaction
Methods and Urban Search and Rescue and furthermore, as well as definition of Situation
Awareness and its criteria of Presence, Affordances and Field of View. In Interface
Design section, approaches for Conventional Approach, Virtual Environments, Mixed
Reality and Augumented Virtuality are discussed and compared.
Chapter 3 focuses on the introduction of the 3D Augmented Virtuality Interface.
There are three requirements for a usefull interface, including Information Storage,
Integrate Information and Adjustable Display. The technogoy of implementing these
three requirements are also discussed in this chapter.
In Chapter 4, the user studies for naviation of a robot through an environment via
a conventional 2D interface and the 3D augmented virtuality interface are presented.
The results of Path-Following Experiment, Map Building Experiment, Information Usefulness
Experiment, Video Size Experiment, Delay Experiment, Real-World Experiment all show
positive results that the 3D interface performs much better than the conventional
2D interface.
Furthermore, in Chapter 5, more user studies results in exploration are evaluated,
including Pan-Tilt Camera, Find the Foo Experiment. There are some findings in these
experiments.
Finally, in Chapter 6, Principles used in the 3D interface design are discussed
and validated: a) a common reference frame, b) correlation of action and response,
c) and adjustable perspective. Some extensions are also explored, including GPS
reference frame, Visualizing camera zoom and Robot arm manipulation.
Overall, in Chapter 7, summary and further work are presented.
Questions