Abstract
Teleoperated robots are expected to perform tasks in unexpected disaster sites, which have become increasingly common in recent years. However, only few teleoperated robots are used for such purposes owing to their poor usability compared to the handling of such tasks by humans. Further, human-machine interfaces (HMI) used in teleoperated robots are closely related to human skills. Firefighting activities require cognitive skill to make appropriate decisions. In extinguishing a fire or attenuating a leaked combustible gas, firefighting activities consist of two tasks: reconnaissance and water discharge to stop the fire or attenuate the leaked combustible gas, and these tasks possess different properties. In this study, we compared the cognitive skill of ten firefighters (five novices and five experts) in attenuating the leaked combustible gas, the latter of the said two tasks, using a teleoperated robot at a fire department. The experimental results indicated that experts were more multifaceted in their evaluation of the attenuation of combustible gas as compared to novices. In addition, as this result related to firefighter decision-making mechanisms, we were motivated to improve the HMI of firefighting teleoperated robots.
Highlights
As teleoperated robots are work tools, we suppose that the work effectiveness of the teleoperated disaster response robot depends on the operator’s rescue skills
To verify our hypothesis, we analyzed the cognitive skill of experts by comparing the behavior of novices and experts in water discharge activity to attenuate a combustible gas represented by hydrogen gas with the teleoperated firefighting robot
Evaluation checklist items We create a set of evaluation items for the attenuation of combustible gas based on the basic tactics of firefighting [8] and the advice of experienced firefighters
Summary
Recent large-scale disasters have occurred frequently. As the tasks at disaster sites are dangerous and the workload is heavy, a means to perform the tasks indirectly with teleoperated robots is an ideal quick and safe solution to avoid the various risks encountered. The difference in firefighting skill between novices and experts with teleoperated robots in water discharge has not been clarified.
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