User interfaces for human-robot interaction in field robotics

This chapter proposes thirty-two guidelines for pro-actively building a good human-robot user interface and illustrates them through case studies of two technological mature ImPACT Tough Robotics Challenge (TRC) systems: the cyber K9 and construction robot projects. A designer will likely have to build three notably different interfaces at different points in the development process: a diagnostic interface for developers to monitor and debug the robot using their expert knowledge, an end-user interface which is tailored to the tasks and decisions that operator and knowledge workers must execute, and an explicative interface to enable the public to visualize the important scientific achievements afforded by the robot system. The thirty-two guidelines are synthesized from the human-computer interaction, human-robot interaction, and computer supported coordinated work (CSCW) groups communities are clustered around four general categories: roles, layout appropriateness, the Four C’s (content, comparison,l coordination, color), and general interaction with, and through, the display.