Trustworthy Delayed Teleoperation via an Imperfect Regolith Model

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Trustworthy Delayed Teleoperation via an Imperfect Regolith Model
Authors: Joe Louca, John Vrublevskis, Kerstin Eder, Antonia Tzemanaki
Source: Louca, J, Vrublevskis, J, Eder, K I & Tzemanaki, A 2025, 'Trustworthy Delayed Teleoperation via an Imperfect Regolith Model', IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, vol. 10, no. 8, pp. 8372-8379. https://doi.org/10.1109/LRA.2025.3585383
Publisher Information: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 2025.
Publication Year: 2025
Subject Terms: Space Robotics, Acceptability and Trust, haptics and haptic interfaces, Automation, telerobotics and teleoperation
Description: Long-distance teleoperation will enable forthcoming scientific and commercial developments on the lunar surface such as in-situ resource utilisation. However, the large distances involved in these applications introduce multi-second signal delays, which may impair user performance and lead to reduced trust in the system. This work presents a user study of 26 participants exploring the impact of open-loop model-mediated teleoperation (MMT) in providing real-time feedback alongside a delayed video stream of the remote regolith simulant sample collection task. In this system, an imperfect but computationally efficient model was employed to visuo-haptically render the simulant. Three conditions were examined: MMT with visual feedback, MMT with visuo-haptic feedback, and direct teleoperation with delayed visual feedback. Users reported greater trust scores in the visual and visual-haptic MMT conditions (+13%, +12%, respectively) compared with delayed direct teleoperation. In addition, they demonstrated more trusting behaviour in the MMT conditions by reducing the duration of 'wait' periods. Performance metrics were also improved in the MMT conditions (faster completion time), although no significant differences were observed between the two MMT feedback types. These results suggest that, despite using an approximate representation of a complex environment, MMT is a valuable tool for improving performance and developing trust in delayed teleoperation systems.
Document Type: Article
File Description: application/pdf
ISSN: 2377-3774
DOI: 10.1109/lra.2025.3585383
Access URL: https://hdl.handle.net/1983/c226c055-2c09-4220-8a1b-8b18dd96520c
https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/files/470925004/Trustworthy_Delayed_Teleoperation_via_an_Imperfect_Regolith_Model_Final.pdf
Rights: IEEE Copyright
Accession Number: edsair.doi.dedup.....cb36e5f6cb7ed1c1f95b063290896bad
Database: OpenAIRE
Description
Abstract:Long-distance teleoperation will enable forthcoming scientific and commercial developments on the lunar surface such as in-situ resource utilisation. However, the large distances involved in these applications introduce multi-second signal delays, which may impair user performance and lead to reduced trust in the system. This work presents a user study of 26 participants exploring the impact of open-loop model-mediated teleoperation (MMT) in providing real-time feedback alongside a delayed video stream of the remote regolith simulant sample collection task. In this system, an imperfect but computationally efficient model was employed to visuo-haptically render the simulant. Three conditions were examined: MMT with visual feedback, MMT with visuo-haptic feedback, and direct teleoperation with delayed visual feedback. Users reported greater trust scores in the visual and visual-haptic MMT conditions (+13%, +12%, respectively) compared with delayed direct teleoperation. In addition, they demonstrated more trusting behaviour in the MMT conditions by reducing the duration of 'wait' periods. Performance metrics were also improved in the MMT conditions (faster completion time), although no significant differences were observed between the two MMT feedback types. These results suggest that, despite using an approximate representation of a complex environment, MMT is a valuable tool for improving performance and developing trust in delayed teleoperation systems.
ISSN:23773774
DOI:10.1109/lra.2025.3585383