A Virtual Mechanical Interaction Layer Enables Resilient Human-to-Robot Object Handovers

TL;DR

This paper introduces a virtual interaction layer using Virtual Model Control and augmented reality to improve the resilience and communication in human-to-robot object handovers, accommodating pose changes and uncertainties.

Contribution

It presents a novel virtual control framework combined with augmented reality to enhance robustness and user interaction during robotic object handovers.

Findings

Controller demonstrates resilience to pose uncertainties.

Participants preferred the proposed virtual interaction approach.

Insights gained can guide future human-robot interaction designs.

Abstract

Object handover is a common form of interaction that is widely present in collaborative tasks. However, achieving it efficiently remains a challenge. We address the problem of ensuring resilient robotic actions that can adapt to complex changes in object pose during human-to-robot object handovers. We propose the use of Virtual Model Control to create an interaction layer that controls the robot and adapts to the dynamic changes in the handover process. Additionally, we propose the use of augmented reality to facilitate bidirectional communication between humans and robots during handovers. We assess the performance of our controller in a set of experiments that demonstrate its resilience to various sources of uncertainties, including complex changes to the object's pose during the handover. Finally, we performed a user study with 16 participants to understand human preferences for different robot control profiles and augmented reality visuals in object handovers. Our results showed a general preference for the proposed approach and revealed insights that can guide further development in adapting the interaction with the user.