Date of Award

7-2008

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Legacy Department

Applied Psychology

Committee Chair/Advisor

Pagano, Christopher C.

Committee Member

Pak , Rich

Committee Member

Cantalupo , Claudio

Abstract

When teleoperating robots it is often difficult for operators to perceive aspects of remote environments within which they are working (Tittle, Roesler, & Woods, 2002). It is difficult to perceive the sizes of objects in remote environments and to determine if the robot can pass through apertures of various sizes (Casper & Murphy, 2003; Murphy 2004). The present experiment investigated whether remote perception could be improved by providing optic flow during robot movement or by positioning an on-board camera so that the forward portion the robot is in the camera's view. Participants judges the sizes of remote apertures viewed through a camera mounted on a remote robot. The participants were divided into two different viewing conditions; those with the forward portion of the robot in view and those without any portion of the robot in view. Each participant viewed a series of 60 videos, some of which provided optic flow and some of which did not. Results indicated no differences between the flow conditions, and a small yet statistically significant difference between the viewing conditions. On average the participants judged the apertures to be larger when the robot was not in view, which could lead to operators overestimating the ability of robots to fit through small openings. The implications of these findings for the teleoperation of remote robots are discussed.

Included in

Psychology Commons

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