Design of Robot Control Interfaces

For humans and robots to effectively work together, they must share a common understanding of concepts defining the environment and the relationship of those concepts. In this proposal, we present an approach for dynamic interface creation which takes advantage of a robot-centric ontology. We first define a taxonomy based on perceptions and capabilities of the robot, as well as the input and output modalities. An ontology is then constructed to relate the robot concepts and provide a mapping to the modalities. This ontology can then be utilized by a decision-making component to dynamically adjust the interface based on the conditions of the operator, the environment, and the mission. We consider attributes such as cognitive load, fatigue, stress, and ease of use to quantify the potential interfaces. The goal is to develop a design science that includes a methodology for assessing the effectiveness of potential designs and prototype systems.