Effects of feedback mapping on human control of robotic systems in individual and cooperative tasks

In this chapter, we discuss how humans learn to interact with robots with different types of feedback. Specifically, we examine human-robot interaction during reversed control situations and how two humans can jointly control a single robot. In learning to work with unmanned aerial systems, endoscopic surgery tools, or industrial robots, one of the many challenges to humans is mapping the secondary control rapidly and accurately. Three of the studies included in this chapter extend what is currently known about cooperative human-human robot control and individual human-robot control. We focus on control of a randomly moving object, cooperative dyads working via separate master robots to cooperatively control a single robot, and humans having her/his own pair of robotic arms attached to opposite sides of an object when doing a cooperative task. Depending on the interaction and the number of humans in control, the controls can have a one-to-one correspondence, be partially reversed (remotely controlled plane flying toward the operator) or have the fulcrum effect where all motions are reversed. The combined discussion of these research areas reveals the effect of different types of feedback and suggests extensions of current methods for testing feedback conditions with respect to theory in engineering and human factors. This chapter also discusses how the forces are affected, how humans are able to mediate their interactions through a haptic device, and how performance time is affected. The results of these studies help inform how humans use feedback to adapt to the controls required in many types of robot systems and add additional information on human limitations during adaptation and learning.