TY - JOUR
T1 - Using Mobile AR for Rapid Feasibility Analysis for Deployment of Robots
T2 - A Usability Study With Non-Expert Users
AU - Zielinski, Krzysztof
AU - Tadeja, Slawomir
AU - Blumberg, Bruce
AU - Kjærgaard, Mikkel Baun
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 IEEE.
PY - 2025/6
Y1 - 2025/6
N2 - Automating a production line with robotic arms is a complex, demanding task that requires not only substantial resources but also a deep understanding of the automated processes and available technologies and tools. Expert integrators must consider factors such as placement, payload, and robot reach requirements to determine the feasibility of automation. Ideally, such considerations are based on a detailed digital simulation developed before any hardware is deployed. However, this process is often time-consuming and challenging. To simplify these processes, we introduce a much simpler method for the feasibility analysis of robotic arms' reachability, designed for non-experts. We implement this method through a mobile, sensing-based prototype tool. The two-step experimental evaluation included the expert user study results, which helped us identify the difficulty levels of various deployment scenarios and refine the initial prototype. The results of the subsequent quantitative study with 22 non-expert participants utilizing both scenarios indicate that users could complete both simple and complex feasibility analyses in under ten minutes, exhibiting similar cognitive loads and high engagement. Overall, the results suggest that the tool was well-received and rated as highly usable, thereby showing a new path for changing the ease of feasibility analysis for automation.
AB - Automating a production line with robotic arms is a complex, demanding task that requires not only substantial resources but also a deep understanding of the automated processes and available technologies and tools. Expert integrators must consider factors such as placement, payload, and robot reach requirements to determine the feasibility of automation. Ideally, such considerations are based on a detailed digital simulation developed before any hardware is deployed. However, this process is often time-consuming and challenging. To simplify these processes, we introduce a much simpler method for the feasibility analysis of robotic arms' reachability, designed for non-experts. We implement this method through a mobile, sensing-based prototype tool. The two-step experimental evaluation included the expert user study results, which helped us identify the difficulty levels of various deployment scenarios and refine the initial prototype. The results of the subsequent quantitative study with 22 non-expert participants utilizing both scenarios indicate that users could complete both simple and complex feasibility analyses in under ten minutes, exhibiting similar cognitive loads and high engagement. Overall, the results suggest that the tool was well-received and rated as highly usable, thereby showing a new path for changing the ease of feasibility analysis for automation.
KW - building automation
KW - Human-centered robotics
KW - virtual reality and interfaces
U2 - 10.1109/LRA.2025.3560888
DO - 10.1109/LRA.2025.3560888
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:105002790304
SN - 2377-3766
VL - 10
SP - 5489
EP - 5496
JO - IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters
JF - IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters
IS - 6
ER -