Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Directing human attention with pointing

Wang, Xun ; Williams, Mary Anne ; Gärdenfors, Peter LU ; Vitale, Jonathan ; Abidi, Shaukat ; Johnston, Benjamin ; Kuipers, Benjamin and Huang, Alan (2014) 23rd IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication, IEEE RO-MAN 2014 p.174-179
Abstract

Pointing is a typical means of directing a human's attention to a specific object or event. Robot pointing behaviours that direct the attention of humans are critical for human-robot interaction, communication and collaboration. In this paper, we describe an experiment undertaken to investigate human comprehension of a humanoid robot's pointing behaviour. We programmed a NAO robot to point to markers on a large screen and asked untrained human subjects to identify the target of the robots pointing gesture. We found that humans are able to identify robot pointing gestures. Human subjects achieved higher levels of comprehension when the robot pointed at objects closer to the gesturing arm and when they stood behind the robot. In addition,... (More)

Pointing is a typical means of directing a human's attention to a specific object or event. Robot pointing behaviours that direct the attention of humans are critical for human-robot interaction, communication and collaboration. In this paper, we describe an experiment undertaken to investigate human comprehension of a humanoid robot's pointing behaviour. We programmed a NAO robot to point to markers on a large screen and asked untrained human subjects to identify the target of the robots pointing gesture. We found that humans are able to identify robot pointing gestures. Human subjects achieved higher levels of comprehension when the robot pointed at objects closer to the gesturing arm and when they stood behind the robot. In addition, we found that subjects performance improved with each assessment task. These new results can be used to guide the design of effective robot pointing behaviours that enable more effective robot to human communication and improve human-robot collaborative performance.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
host publication
IEEE RO-MAN 2014 - 23rd IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication : Human-Robot Co-Existence: Adaptive Interfaces and Systems for Daily Life, Therapy, Assistance and Socially Engaging Interactions - Human-Robot Co-Existence: Adaptive Interfaces and Systems for Daily Life, Therapy, Assistance and Socially Engaging Interactions
editor
Sabanovic, Selma ; Loureiro, Rui ; Nagai, Yukie ; Alissandrakis, Aris ; Tapus, Adriana and Tanaka, Fumihide
article number
6926249
pages
6 pages
publisher
IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
conference name
23rd IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication, IEEE RO-MAN 2014
conference location
Edinburgh, United Kingdom
conference dates
2014-08-25 - 2014-08-29
external identifiers
  • scopus:84937553104
ISBN
9781479967636
DOI
10.1109/ROMAN.2014.6926249
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
7f3a14c7-4da6-417d-8cd8-81dadd28488e
date added to LUP
2019-06-12 16:39:13
date last changed
2021-12-02 08:41:14
@inproceedings{7f3a14c7-4da6-417d-8cd8-81dadd28488e,
  abstract     = {{<p>Pointing is a typical means of directing a human's attention to a specific object or event. Robot pointing behaviours that direct the attention of humans are critical for human-robot interaction, communication and collaboration. In this paper, we describe an experiment undertaken to investigate human comprehension of a humanoid robot's pointing behaviour. We programmed a NAO robot to point to markers on a large screen and asked untrained human subjects to identify the target of the robots pointing gesture. We found that humans are able to identify robot pointing gestures. Human subjects achieved higher levels of comprehension when the robot pointed at objects closer to the gesturing arm and when they stood behind the robot. In addition, we found that subjects performance improved with each assessment task. These new results can be used to guide the design of effective robot pointing behaviours that enable more effective robot to human communication and improve human-robot collaborative performance.</p>}},
  author       = {{Wang, Xun and Williams, Mary Anne and Gärdenfors, Peter and Vitale, Jonathan and Abidi, Shaukat and Johnston, Benjamin and Kuipers, Benjamin and Huang, Alan}},
  booktitle    = {{IEEE RO-MAN 2014 - 23rd IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication : Human-Robot Co-Existence: Adaptive Interfaces and Systems for Daily Life, Therapy, Assistance and Socially Engaging Interactions}},
  editor       = {{Sabanovic, Selma and Loureiro, Rui and Nagai, Yukie and Alissandrakis, Aris and Tapus, Adriana and Tanaka, Fumihide}},
  isbn         = {{9781479967636}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{01}},
  pages        = {{174--179}},
  publisher    = {{IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.}},
  title        = {{Directing human attention with pointing}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/ROMAN.2014.6926249}},
  doi          = {{10.1109/ROMAN.2014.6926249}},
  year         = {{2014}},
}