Positioning is an essential aspect of robot navigation, and visual odometry an important technique for continuous updating the internal information about robot position, especially indoors without GPS. Visual odometry is using one or more cameras to find visual clues and estimate robot movements in 3D relatively. Recent progress has been made, especially with fully integrated systems such as the RealSense T265 from Intel, which is the focus of this article. We compare between each other three visual odometry systems and one wheel odometry, on a ground robot. We do so in 8 scenarios, varying the speed, the number of visual features, and with or without humans walking in the field of view. We continuously measure the position error in translation and rotation thanks to a ground truth positioning system. Our result show that all odometry systems are challenged, but in different ways. In average, ORB-SLAM2 has the poorer results, while the RealSense T265 and the Zed Mini have comparable performance. In conclusion, a single odometry system might still not be sufficient, so using multiple instances and sensor fusion approaches are necessary while waiting for additional research and further improved products.

Positioning is an essential aspect of robot navigation, and visual odometry an important technique for continuous updating the internal information about robot position, especially indoors without GPS (Global Positioning System). Visual odometry is using one or more cameras to find visual clues and estimate robot movements in 3D relatively. Recent progress has been made, especially with fully integrated systems such as the RealSense T265 from Intel, which is the focus of this article. We compare between each other three visual odometry systems (and one wheel odometry, as a known baseline), on a ground robot. We do so in eight scenarios, varying the speed, the number of visual features, and with or without humans walking in the field of view. We continuously measure the position error in translation and rotation thanks to a ground truth positioning system. Our result shows that all odometry systems are challenged, but in different ways. The RealSense T265 and the ZED Mini have comparable performance, better than our baseline ORB-SLAM2 (mono-lens without inertial measurement unit (IMU)) but not excellent. In conclusion, a single odometry system might still not be sufficient, so using multiple instances and sensor fusion approaches are necessary while waiting for additional research and further improved products.

Individuals may use their wheelchair to play VR games, explore three-dimensional, visual worlds and take part in virtual social events, even if they do not master the hand- or head- inputs that are common for VR. We present the development of a low-cost, do-it-yourself, wheelchair locomotion-device, which allows navigation in VR. More than 50 people, including 9 wheelchair users, participated in the evaluations of three prototypes and a number of games developed for them. Initially, cybersickness turned out to be a problem, but when we changed to an electric wheelchair instead of a manual and fine-tuned the controls this discomfort was remarkably reduced. We suggest using this device for gaming, training, interaction design, accessibility studies and the operation of robots.

Eye-gaze interaction is a common control mode for people with limited mobility of their hands. Mobile robotic telepresence systems are increasingly used to promote social interaction between geographically dispersed people. We are interested in how gaze interaction can be applied to such robotic systems, in order to provide new opportunities for people with physical challenges. However, few studies have implemented gaze-interaction into a telepresence robot and it is still unclear how gaze-interaction within these robotic systems impacts users and how to improve the systems. This paper introduces our research project, which takes a two-phase approach towards investigating a novel interaction-system we developed. Results of these two studies are discussed and future plans are described.

Gaze interaction with telerobots is a new opportunity for wheelchair users with severe motor disabilities. We present a video showing how head-mounted displays (HMD) with gaze tracking can be used to monitor a robot that carries a 360° video camera and a microphone. Our interface supports autonomous driving via way-points on a map, along with gaze-controlled steering and gaze typing. It is implemented with Unity, which communicates with the Robot Operating System (ROS).

We contribute to a project introducing the use of a large single touch-screen as a concept for future airplane cockpits. Human-machine interaction in this new type of cockpit must be optimised to cope with the different types of normal use as well as during moments of turbulence (which can occur during flights varying degrees of severity). We propose an original experimental setup for reproducing turbulence (not limited to aviation) based on a touch-screen mounted on a rollercoaster. Participants had to repeatedly solve three basic touch interactions: a single click, a one-finger drag-and-drop, and a zoom operation involving a 2-finger pinching gesture. The completion times of the different tasks as well as the number of unnecessary interactions with the screen constitute the collected user data. We also propose a data analysis and statistical method to combine user performance with observed turbulence, including acceleration and jerk along the different axes. We then report some of the implications of severe turbulence on touch interaction and make recommendations as to how this can be accommodated in future design solutions.

In the shipping industry, staffing expenses have become a vital competition parameter. In this paper, an approach and a software tool are presented to support decisions on the staffing of merchant ships. The tool is implemented in the form of a Web user interface that makes use of discrete-event simulation and allows estimation of the workload and of whether different scenarios are successfully performed taking account of the number of crewmembers, watch schedules, distribution of competencies, and others. The software library ‘SimManning’ at the core of the project is provided as open source. The tool is conceived as a support for the maritime authorities, certifying bodies and shipping companies to assess whether a ship is safely manned.

Internet of Things (IoT) technologies are widely recognized as key components of upcoming Smart Cities; however, pure technology is not sufficient for successful instantiation of the underlying vision of future urban settlements. Cities are mainly for humans, supporting their businesses, and involving the needed administrative entities. These existing stakeholders shall find new ways of interaction and new paradigms enabled by the IoT technological infrastructure to actually enact the full smart city vision. This chapter describes the steps along the tough and challenging path toward actual Smart Cities, pursued by ALMANAC (Reliable Smart Secure Internet Of Things For Smart Cities), an FP7-project cofunded by the seventh Framework Programme of the European Union.

This paper focuses on digital aids for sight impairment and motor disabilities. We propose an Internet of Things (IoT) platform for discovering nearby items, getting their status, and interacting with them by e.g. voice commands or gaze gestures. The technology is based on Bluetooth Low Energy, which is included in consumer electronics such as smartphones without requiring additional hardware. The paper presents a prototype platform illustrated by concepts of use.

Smart cities advocate future environments where sensor pervasiveness, data delivery and exchange, and information mash-up enable better support of every aspect of (social) life in human settlements. As this vision matures, evolves and is shaped against several application scenarios, and adoption perspectives, a common need for scalable, pervasive, flexible and replicable infrastructures emerges. Such a need is currently fostering new design efforts to grant performance, reuse and interoperability while avoiding knowledge silos typical of early efforts on similar top is, e.g. Automation in buildings and homes. This paper introduces a federated smart city platform (SCP) developed in the context of the ALMANAC FP7 EU project and discusses lessons learned during the first experimental application of the platform to a smart waste management scenario in a medium-sized, European city. The ALMANAC SCP aims to integrate Internet of Things (IoT), capillary networks and metro access networks to offer smart services to the citizens, and thus enable Smart City processes. The key element of the SCP is a middleware supporting semantic interoperability of heterogeneous resources, devices, services and data management. The platform is built upon a dynamic federation of private and public networks, while supporting end-to-end security and privacy. Furthermore, it also enables the integration of services that, although being natively external to the platform itself, allow enriching the set of data and information used by the Smart City applications supported.

ABSTRACTThis paper presents an experimental investigation of gaze-based control modes for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or "drones"). Ten participants performed a simple flying task. We gathered empirical measures, including task completion time, and examined the user experience for difficulty, reliability, and fun. Four control modes were tested, with each mode applying a combination of x-y gaze movement and manual (keyboard) input to control speed (pitch), altitude, rotation (yaw), and drafting (roll). Participants had similar task completion times for all four control modes, but one combination was considered significantly more reliable than the others. We discuss design and performance issues for the gaze-plus-manual split of controls when drones are operated using gaze in conjunction with tablets, near-eye displays (glasses), or monitors.

Demo Hour highlights new prototypes and projects that exemplify innovation and novel forms of interaction. Audrey Desjardins, Editor

Following the paradigm shift where physical controls are replaced by touch-enabled surfaces, we report on an experimental evaluation of a user interface concept that allows touchscreen-based panels to be manipulated partially blindly (aircrafts, cars). The proposed multi-touch interaction strategy – involving visual front-view feedback to the user from a copy of the peripheral panel being manipulated – compares favourably against trackballs or head-down interactions. Keywords-HCI; Tactile interaction; Touch; Blind; Visual attention; Cockpit; In-vehicle systems

An original experimental approach has been chosen, with an incremental progression from a traditional physical cockpit, to a tactile flight simulator reproducing traditional controls, to a prototype navigation display with direct tactile functionality, first located in the traditional low position, then located in front of pilots in desktop-like setup. The main findings are that naive tactile implementations bring a performance penalty compared to similar physical interfaces, but tactile approaches have a number of assets that will counterbalance this fact.