Department of Computer Science tenure-track faculty candidate Michael Walker will give a research presentation on Thursday, March 14, 2024, from 1-1:50 p.m. in Rekhi 214. The title of Walker’s talk is, “The Design of Virtual and Mixed Reality Interfaces for Human-Robot Interaction.” Following, a meeting with Computer Science students will take place from 2-3 p.m. in Rekhi 101.
Abstract
Despite advances made in Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) research, robot usage and collaboration has remained limited in modern society due to the difficulties of human-robot teaming. Advanced 3D virtual and mixed reality display technologies are poised to address this challenge by making robots more expressive as well as easier to oversee and control. This research focuses on the design of advanced display interfaces that support collaboration, supervision, and teleoperation of robots in both collocated and remote field settings. These novel robot interface designs are empirically evaluated using quantitative and qualitative methods in user study experiments that utilize real robots and emulate tasks found in the real world (e.g., manufacturing, disaster response, etc.). Theoretical, methodological, and practical contributions are made to the field of HRI and demonstrate how human-robot teaming efficiency and cohesion can be enhanced by immersive interfaces in structured and unstructured real-world scenarios.
Speaker Bio
Michael has a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He also holds a B.S. in Computer Science from Oregon State University and a B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Washington. He is interested in robotics, extended reality, and human-computer interaction and his dissertation explores how mixed reality interfaces can improve human-robot teaming. Michael enjoys spending his free time with his wife, Anita, golden retriever, Baloo, and border collie puppy, Mowgli. His hobbies include skiing, scuba diving, hockey, racket sports, painting, video/board games, biking, and hiking.