Intuitive Speech-based Robotic Control

Abstract

We conducted a speech-based robotic control study using 29 Soldiers recruited from Fort Benning, GA. Findings indicated Soldiers were able to perform a secondary task (writing numbers) significantly faster when operating a robot using speech control versus using manual control. This demonstrated that robotic control requires multitasking and also implies that speech control requires less attention than manual control, thus freeing up cognitive resources for additional tasks. Speech control allowed significantly faster performance when the task involved using menu items (enlarge picture, shrink picture). Speech control allowed direct access to the menu items, whereas manual control required navigating through a menu and selecting an item two levels deep into the menu. Speech control was also significantly faster for labeling items where Soldiers had to choose and select from a list to label a picture. Alternatively, speech control took significantly longer when performing continuous tasks, such as turning the robot during the "take a picture" task and driving to the blue waypoint, which involved a significant amount of turning. When interpreting the results, one should consider that the intuition and speech-control portions of the experiment featured tasks that could be found in a robotic reconnaissance mission and the findings are specific to these tasks.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 2010
Accession Number
ADA519652

Entities

People

  • Christian B. Carstens
  • Elizabeth S. Redden
  • Rodger A. Pettitt

Organizations

  • United States Army Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Autonomy
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Automated Speech Recognition
  • Computers
  • Control Systems
  • Ear
  • Engineering
  • Experimental Design
  • Ground Vehicles
  • Human Factors Engineering
  • Language
  • Military Research
  • Mobile Devices
  • Natural Languages
  • Operating Systems
  • Simulations
  • Unmanned Ground Vehicles
  • Unmanned Vehicles
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • Computer science

Readers

  • Agent-Based Social Robotics and Mobile-Assisted Learning in Virtual Environments.
  • Computational Linguistics
  • Military Training and Readiness Simulation

Technology Areas

  • AI & ML
  • AI & ML - Autonomous Systems
  • Autonomy