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We present an interface that allows users to direct a mobile manipulation robot in tabletop pick-and-place tasks using only their head motions and a single button. The system uses an estimate of the user's head pose and a 3d world model maintained by the robot to determine where the user is pointing their head. We give the results of some preliminary evaluations of our system, which suggest that it is both intuitive and effective. We also describe an example trash-sorting application where the user directs a PR2 robot sort objects in to “trash” and “recycle” piles. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A variety of tasks with robots require directing the robot to interact with objects or locations in the world. While many interfaces currently exist for such interactions, in this paper, we focus on inputs which can be categorized as pointing. Specifically, we look at two ways of using the head as a pointing input: Google Glass, and a head pose estimation technique which uses RGBD data. While both of these input modalities have their own advantages and disadvantages, we evaluate them simply as pointing devices, looking at how the device characteristics affects pointing performance. This is evaluated in a user study in which participants perform a series of object designation tasks. We then use distance, time, and object size data to evaluate input devices using Fitts' Law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Robots for Humanity project aims to enable people with severe motor impairments to interact with their own bodies and their environment through the use of an assistive mobile manipulator, thereby improving their quality of life. Assistive mobile manipulators (AMMs) are mobile robots that physically manipulate the world in order to provide assistance to people with disabilities. They present an exciting frontier for assistive technology, as they can operate away from the user, have a large dexterous workspace (due to their mobility), and not directly encumber their users. The cornerstone of this project is an ongoing, interactive design process with a quadriplegic user, Henry Evans, and his wife and primary caregiver, Jane Evans. Henry has been enabled, through the use of a PR2 robot, to scratch his own face, shave, fetch a towel from his kitchen, and hand out Halloween candy to trick-ortreating children at a local mall. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Telepresence robots are becoming increasingly popular and are increasingly ready to enter use in the real world as stand-ins for remote humans. It is useful, but currently uncommon, to provide the human operator with an approximation of peripheral vision and the ability to saccade around the scene. We have developed an interface which provides peripheral vision to a remote operator by using a motorized pan-tilt camera to create a panorama, and enables the operator to move the camera's gaze within that panorama. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]