Human Behavior Analysis in Human-Robot Cooperation with AR Glasses

To achieve efficient human-robot cooperation, it is necessary to work in close proximity while ensuring safety. However, in conventional robot control, maintaining a certain distance between humans and robots is required for safety, owing to control uncertainties and unexpected human actions, which can limit the efficiency of robot operations. Therefore, this study aims to establish a human-robot cooperation aiding system that concerns both safety and efficiency in a close proximity situation. We propose two Augmented Reality (AR) interfaces to display robot information via AR glasses, allowing workers to see the robot information while focusing on their task and avoiding collisions with the robot. AR glasses can give hands-free communication required for a work environment like warehouses or convenience store backyards, and multiple information levels, simple or informative, to balance accuracy and easiness of human recognition ability. We conducted a comparative evaluation experiments with 24 participants and found that both safety and efficiency were improved using the proposed user interfaces (UIs). We also collected the position, head motion, and eye-tracking data from the AR glasses to gain insight into human behavior during the tasks for each UI. Consequently, we clarified the behavior of the participants under each condition and how they contributed to safety and efficiency.