Do multimodal search cues help or hinder teleoperated search and rescue missions?

Abstract

In search and rescue missions, teleoperated rovers equipped with sensor technology are deployed into harsh environments to search for targets. To support the search task, unimodal/multimodal cues can be presented via visual, acoustic and/or haptic channels. However, human operators often perform the search task in parallel with the driving task, which can cause interference of attentional resources based on multiple resource theory. Navigating corners can be a particularly challenging aspect of remote driving, as described with the Cornering Law. Therefore, search cues should not interfere with cornering. The present research explores how unimodal/multimodal search cues affect cornering performance, with typical communication delays of 50 ms and 500 ms. One-hundred thirty-one participants, distributed into two delay groups, performed a target search task with unimodal/multimodal search cues. Search cues did not interfere with cornering performance with 50 ms delays. For 500 ms delays, search cues presented via the haptic channel significantly interfered with the driving task. Practitioner summary: Teleoperated rovers can support search and rescue missions. Search cues may assist the human operator, but they may also interfere with the task of driving. The study examined interference of unimodal and multimodal search cues. Haptic cues should not be implemented for systems with a delay of 500 ms or more.