Performance differences between instructions on paper vs digital glasses for a simple assembly task

Abstract The use of collaborative robots in the manufacturing industry has widely spread in the last decade. In order to be efficient, the human-robot collaboration needs to be properly designed by also taking into account the operator’s psychophysiological reactions. Virtual Reality can be used as a tool to simulate human-robot collaboration in a safe and cheap way. Here, we present a virtual collaborative platform in which the human operator and a simulated robot coordinate their actions to accomplish a simple assembly task. In this study, the robot moved slowly or more quickly in order to assess the effect of its velocity on the human’s responses. Ten participants tested this application by using an Oculus Rift head-mounted display; ARTracking cameras and a Kinect system were used to track the operator’s right arm movements and hand gestures respectively. Performance, user experience, and physiological responses were recorded. The results showed that while humans’ performances and evaluations varied as a function of the robot’s velocity, no differences were found in the physiological responses. Taken together, these data highlight the relevance of the kinematic aspects of robot’s motion within a human-robot collaboration and provide valuable insights to further develop our virtual human-machine interactive platform.

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A simple assembly planner for the insertion of ring-shaped deformable objects

Assembly Automation ◽

10.1108/aa-12-2016-181 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 38 (2) ◽

pp. 182-194 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ixchel G. Ramirez-Alpizar ◽

Kensuke Harada ◽

Eiichi Yoshida

Keyword(s):

Force Feedback ◽

Heuristic Method ◽

Cylindrical Part ◽

Deformable Objects ◽

Content Type ◽

Assembly Task ◽

Object A ◽

Simple Heuristic ◽

End Effectors ◽

Simple Assembly

Purpose The aim of this work is to develop a simple planner that is able to automatically plan the motion for a dual-arm manipulator that assembles a ring-shaped elastic object into a cylinder. Moreover, it is desirable to keep the amount of deformation as small as possible, because stretching the object can permanently change its size thus failing to perfectly fit in the cylindrical part and generating undesired gaps between the object and the cylinder. Design/methodology/approach The assembly task is divided in two parts: assembly task planning and assembly step planning. The first one computes key configurations of the robot’s end-effectors, and it is based on a simple heuristic method, whereas the latter computes the robot’s motion between key configurations using an optimization-based planner that includes a potential-energy-based cost function for minimizing the object’s deformation. Findings The optimization-based planner is shown to be effective for minimizing the deformation of the ring-shaped object. A simple heuristic approach is demonstrated to be valid for inserting deformable objects into a cylinder. Experimental results show that the object can be kept without deformation for the first part of the assembly task, thus reducing the time it is being stretched. Originality value A simple assembly planner for inserting ring-shaped deformable objects was developed and validated through several experiments. The proposed planner is able to insert ring-shaped objects without using any sensor (visual and/or force) feedback. The only feedback used is the position of the robot’s end-effectors, which is usually available for any robot.

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Letter Verbal Fluency in Spanish-, Basque-, and Catalan-Speaking Individuals: Does the Selection of the Letters Influence the Outcome?

Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research ◽

10.1044/2019_jslhr-l-18-0365 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 62 (7) ◽

pp. 2400-2410

Author(s):

Laiene Olabarrieta-Landa ◽

Itziar Benito-Sánchez ◽

Montserrat Alegret ◽

Anna Gailhajanet ◽

Esther Landa Torre ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Frontal Lobe ◽

Verbal Fluency ◽

Native Language ◽

Spanish Speakers ◽

Crucial Step ◽

Verbal Fluency Test ◽

Performance Differences ◽

Frontal Lobe Functioning ◽

Selection Of ◽

Fluency Test

Purpose The aim of this study was to compare Basque and Catalan bilinguals' performance on the letter verbal fluency test and determine whether significant differences are present depending on the letters used and the language of administration. Method The sample consisted of 87 Spanish monolinguals, 139 Basque bilinguals, and 130 Catalan bilinguals from Spain. Participants completed the letter verbal fluency test using the letters F, A, S, M, R, P, and E. Results Bilinguals scored higher on the letter verbal fluency test when they were tested in Spanish than in Basque or Catalan. No performance differences were found according to native language or dialects within Basque participants. Catalans with Spanish as their native language scored lower on the letter F compared to those who grew up speaking Catalan and Spanish. The suggested letters to use with Basque speakers are A, E, and B; the suggested letters to use with Catalan speakers are P, F, and M; and the suggested letters to use with Spanish speakers are M, R, and P. Conclusion Selecting appropriate stimuli depending on the language of testing is the first crucial step to assess verbal fluency and thus possible frontal lobe functioning impairment.

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