Walk Along
An Experiment on Controlling the Mobile Robot “Spot” with Voice and Gestures
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22190828 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Renchi Zhang (0000-0002-0684-7603, Delft University of Technology), Jesse van der Linden (0009-0002-2112-4187, Delft University of Technology), Dimitra Dodou (0000-0002-9428-3261, Delft University of Technology), Harleigh Seyffert (0000-0003-0323-2096, Delft University of Technology), Yke Bauke Eisma (0000-0003-3437-2761, Delft University of Technology), Joost de Winter (0000-0002-1281-8200, Delft University of Technology) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 1-43 |
| Publication date | 2025-12-31 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | ACM Transactions on Human-Robot Interaction (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2573-9522 • E-ISSN: 2573-9522 |
| Publisher | Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1145/3729540 |
| OpenAlex | W4409390830 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 87 |
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 \(^{\circ}\) 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
Gesture · Human–computer interaction · Robot · Communication · Computer Science · Psychology · Robotic Path Planning Algorithms · Robotics and Automated Systems · Social Robot Interaction and HRI · Artificial Intelligence
Multiple resources and performance prediction
Mental Rotation of Three-Dimensional Objects
Gesture as simulated action
From Here to Autonomy
Multiple Resources and Mental Workload
Multi-Dimensional Evaluation of an Augmented Reality Head-Mounted Display User Interface for Controlling Legged Manipulators
Interdependence as the key for an ethical artificial autonomy
Natural user interfaces are not natural
A Walk in the Park With Robodog
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |