Where should I put my Mark? VR-based Evaluation of HRI Modalities for Industrial Assistance Systems for Spot Repair

Investigating application areas for utilizing robots to support human workers is a continuing concern within human robot collaboration. In this paper, we focus on surface repair and finishing processes in which robots support skilled workers in task execution. We conducted a user study which investigates novel, pen-based human robot interaction modalities for collaborative spot repair processes in a Virtual Reality (VR) setting. Our findings show that participants preferred a test condition in which all interaction with the robot took place directly on the work piece. Furthermore, the interaction modality had an impact on objective performance indicators. These findings are discussed in the context of designing intuitive interfaces for collaborative robots in industrial settings.