Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to examine, whether and under which conditions humans are able to predict the putting distance of a robotic device. Based on the “flash-lag effect” (FLE) it was expected that the prediction errors increase with increasing putting velocity. Furthermore, we hypothesized that the predictions are more accurate and more confident if human observers operate under full vision (F-RCHB) compared to either temporal occlusion (I-RCHB) or spatial occlusion (invisible ball, F-RHC, or club, F-B). In two experiments, 48 video sequences of putt movements performed by a BioRob robot arm were presented to thirty-nine students (age: 24.49±3.20 years). In the experiments, video sequences included six putting distances (1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, and 4.0 m; experiment 1) under full versus incomplete vision (F-RCHB versus I-RCHB) and three putting distances (2. 0, 3.0, and 4.0 m; experiment 2) under the four visual conditions (F-RCHB, I-RCHB, F-RCH, and F-B). After the presentation of each video sequence, the participants estimated the putting distance on a scale from 0 to 6 m and provided their confidence of prediction on a 5-point scale. Both experiments show comparable results for the respective dependent variables (error and confidence measures). The participants consistently overestimated the putting distance under the full vision conditions; however, the experiments did not show a pattern that was consistent with the FLE. Under the temporal occlusion condition, a prediction was not possible; rather a random estimation pattern was found around the centre of the prediction scale (3 m). Spatial occlusion did not affect errors and confidence of prediction. The experiments indicate that temporal constraints seem to be more critical than spatial constraints. The FLE may not apply to distance prediction compared to location estimation.
Highlights
Human-robot interaction is gaining importance due to the increasing penetration of many areas by robotic devices, e.g., in rehabilitation, industrial production and motor skill learning in sports
Under the full vision condition, all distances are overestimated and the estimated putting distance increases with increasing distance of the putts presented to the participants
To test the assumption that the upswing phase has a preparatory function for the perception of the follow-through phase, e.g. eye movement, an isolated study on the influence of the downswing phase on the quality of the prediction of putt performance must be conducted
Summary
Human-robot interaction is gaining importance due to the increasing penetration of many areas by robotic devices, e.g., in rehabilitation, industrial production and motor skill learning in sports. The overlap of operating spaces between robots and humans is constantly growing.
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