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GRASP Seminar Series: Spring 2008
March 28, 11:00 a.m., Wu & Chen Auditorium, Levine Hall (3330 Walnut Street)
Julie Adams
Vanderbilt University
"A System of Human-Robot Interfaces for Large Robot Teams"
Abstract: Our research focuses on developing methods
for humans to supervise and command large numbers of unmanned vehicles,
ground or aerial. Our work applied two techniques from cognitive engineering,
goal-directed task analysis and cognitive work analysis, as a means of
understanding two domains; emergency response to chemical, biological,
radiological, nuclear, and explosive (CBRNE) device events and wilderness
search and rescue. The two analysis techniques have provided an understanding
of cognitive factors that can affect a human’s ability to supervise
unmanned vehicles from a remote location, while the humans must also
be an integral component of the emergency response team.
The purpose of applying these two analysis techniques was been to identify
how unmanned vehicles can best be integrated into the emergency response
from the lowest user level of a dedicated vehicle operator to the highest
user level of the incident commander. We have defined a hierarchy of
users and system information flows that are guiding the design and development
of an integrated system of user interfaces and information visualizations
for the appropriate user level data abstractions.
One goal of our work is to develop systems that permit a small number
of humans (one or two) to simultaneously supervise ten or more vehicles,
where the vehicles are either ground-based, aerial-based, or a combination
of the two. Another goal is to develop a system that supports all potential
users of the information provided by remote vehicles.
Biography:
Julie A. Adams, Ph.D. received her B.S. in Computer Science (1989) and B.B.A. in Accounting (1990) from Siena College and her M.S.E (1993) and Ph.D. (1995) degrees in Computer and Information Sciences from the University of Pennsylvania. She is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Computer Engineering in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department at Vanderbilt University. She worked in Human Factors for Honeywell, Inc. and the Eastman Kodak Company from 1995 to 2000 and was an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Rochester Institute of Technology from 2000 until 2003. She conducts research in human-robotic interaction and distributed algorithms for multiple robotic systems. She is the recipient of a 2007 NSF CAREER award.
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Last update:14 January, 2008