Supplementary data for the paper: Walk along: An experiment on controlling the mobile robot "Spot’" with voice and gestures

Robots are becoming more capable and can autonomously perform tasks such as navigating between locations. However, human oversight remains crucial. This study compared two touchless methods for directing mobile robots: voice control and gesture control, to investigate the efficiency of these methods and the preference of users. We tested these methods in two conditions: one in which participants remained stationary and one in which they walked freely alongside the robot. We hypothesized that walking alongside the robot would result in higher intuitiveness ratings and improved task performance, based on the idea that walking promotes spatial alignment and reduces the effort required for mental rotation. In a 2×2 within-subject design, 218 participants guided the quadruped robot Spot along a circuitous route with multiple 90° turns using rotate left, rotate right, and walk forward commands. After each trial, participants rated the intuitiveness of the command mapping, while post-experiment interviews were used to gather the participants’ preferences. Results showed that voice control combined with walking with Spot was the most favored and intuitive, whereas gesture control while standing caused confusion for left/right commands. Nevertheless, 29% of participants preferred gesture control, citing increased task engagement and visual congruence as reasons. An odometry-based analysis revealed that participants often followed behind Spot, particularly in the gesture control condition, when they were allowed to walk. In conclusion, voice control with walking produced the best outcomes. Improving physical ergonomics and adjusting gesture types could make gesture control more effective.

机器人的性能正不断提升，可自主完成诸如跨位置导航之类的任务，但人类的监督仍不可或缺。本研究对比了两种移动机器人非接触式操控方案：语音控制与手势控制，旨在探究这两种方案的操控效率及用户使用偏好。我们在两种实验场景下对这两种方案进行了测试：其一为受试者保持静止状态，其二为受试者可随机器人自由步行移动。基于“步行可促进空间对齐，并降低心理旋转所需认知负荷”这一原理，我们提出假设：随机器人一同步行的场景，将带来更高的直观性评分与更优异的任务完成表现。本研究采用2×2被试内实验设计，招募218名受试者，通过左转、右转与前进指令，操控四足机器人Spot沿包含多个90°转角的迂回路线行进。每轮实验结束后，受试者需对指令映射的直观性进行评分；实验结束后则通过访谈收集受试者的使用偏好。实验结果表明：配合步行场景的语音控制方案最受受试者青睐，且直观性最优；而静止状态下的手势控制则会导致受试者在左右转向指令上产生混淆。尽管如此，仍有29%的受试者更倾向于手势控制，其理由为该方案可提升任务参与度，并带来视觉一致性体验。基于里程计的分析结果显示：当允许受试者步行时，他们常会跟随在Spot后方，尤其在手势控制场景下这一现象更为明显。综上，配合步行场景的语音控制方案取得了最优实验结果。若能优化人体工程学设计并调整手势类型，手势控制方案的操控效果或可得到提升。