<title>Multisensory feedback in advanced teleoperations: benefits of auditory cues</title>

Abstract

This paper describes work conducted at the JPL Advanced Teleoperation Laboratory in an experiment that demonstrated the value of auditory cues in teleoperation as part of a simulated Solar Maximum Satellite Repair (SMSR). An experiment was designed to examine a specific teleoperation task of unbolting an electrical connector screw based on the apparent significance of auditory signals. Visual and kinesthetic feedback have usually been the primary modes for cueing operator manual control actions in remote manipulation tasks; however, auditory information may have further beneficial effects on operator performance. In addition to the visual cues available from a pair of stereoscopic cameras and contact force feedback cues from the operator's manual hand controller, we gave the operator an amplified microphonic task presentation. In general, sounds within the robot workspace are not heard in the operator control room. Such auditory cues had not been used in the Advanced Teleoperation Laboratory (ATOP) prior to this experiment. Six subjects participated in the experiment which examined the performance benefits of vision, force, and sound feedback. Our data infers that audio cues can make a significant difference in task completion time.