Multibody cognition in a remote multitask system

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K19785
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 61:Human informatics and related fields
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: Ikei Yasushi 東京大学, 大学院情報理工学系研究科, 教授 (00202870)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): ヤェム ヴィボル 筑波大学, システム情報系, 准教授 (20808258)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-07-09 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: remote / avatar robot / tele XR

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this study, we experimentally investigated cognition in multi-task scenarios involving the remote operation of robots. We developed an avatar robot configuration that enables simultaneous remote control, in which robot viewpoint video, audio, and sensor information are shared via a cloud server, and multiple mechanisms are constructed to provide bodily feedback. Using these mechanisms, we examined the characteristics of cognition and operation for multiple robots. To facilitate simultaneous cognition of each robot, we investigated splitting and overlaying viewpoint presentations. Our findings suggest that while splitting the space and presenting viewpoints in specific directions preserves continuity, there are concerns regarding the acquisition of a sense of presence. On the other hand, while overlaying viewpoints enables effective localization to the robot's viewpoint, there are quality concerns. These results provide a foundation for designing task-appropriate systems.

Free Research Field

XRシステムとテレエクスペリエンス

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

遠隔通信の超高速化と超高齢社会を目前にして，遠隔操作で複数の労働を実現しうる代理身体アバターは重要性がますます高まっている．しかしながら複数のアバターロボットの操作によるマルチタスクの実行は，まだ十分な議論が行われていない．本研究は複数のアバターロボットに主観視点で没入し，それらを操作する際の認知特性を調査したものであり，上記の問題に答えるものである．臨場感に重要な視覚提示の構成法について比較を行い，その特性について基礎的な知見を得ており，タスクに依存した利用法について今後検討を進めることを可能としている．実空間の複数ロボットの同時遠隔操作の研究例はほとんどないため意義のある成果である．