Tele-operation Training

Abstract

Successful tele-operation during Urban Search and Rescue requires tele-operators to make accurate driveability judgments, that is, judgments about whether they can drive a robot through an aperture. No research has yet examined which factors during training are responsible for improvements in driveability judgments. We hypothesized that a condition with exploration during training would lead to higher judgment accuracy than one without. For exploratory purposes, we also included a condition with exploration and feedback, which replicated the procedure of previous tele-operation studies. Participants made driveability judgments in 1 of 3 conditions, which varied participants’ training: Exploration and Feedback, Exploration and No Feedback, and No Exploration and No Feedback. Accuracy in the Exploration and No Feedback condition was higher than in the No Exploration and No Feedback control, and was not different from accuracy in the Exploration and Feedback condition. The results imply that exploration may be necessary and sufficient for improving driveability judgments.