Faculty of Computing
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Publication Open Access Design, Implementation, and Performance Evaluation of a Web-Based Multiple Robot Control System(Hindawi, 2022-05-30) Rajapaksha, U. U. S; Jayawardena, C; MacDonald, B. AHeterogeneous multiple robots are currently being used in smart homes and industries for different purposes. The authors have developed the Web interface to control and interact with multiple robots with autonomous robot registration. The autonomous robot registration engine (RRE) was developed to register all robots with relevant ROS topics. The ROS topic identification algorithm was developed to identify the relevant ROS topics for the publication and the subscription. The Gazebo simulator spawns all robots to interact with a user. The initial experiments were conducted with simple instructions and then changed to manage multiple instructions using a state transition diagram. The number of robots was increased to evaluate the system’s performance by measuring the robots’ start and stop response time. The authors have conducted experiments to work with the semantic interpretation from the user instruction. The mathematical equations for the delay in response time have been derived by considering each experiment’s input given and system characteristics. The Big O representation is used to analyze the running time complexity of algorithms developed. The experiment result indicated that the autonomous robot registration was successful, and the communication performance through the Web decreased gradually with the number of robots registered.Publication Open Access Design, Implementation, and Performance Evaluation of a Web-Based Multiple Robot Control System(Hindawi, 2022-05-30) Rajapaksha, U. U. S; Jayawardena, C; MacDonald, B. AHeterogeneous multiple robots are currently being used in smart homes and industries for different purposes. The authors have developed the Web interface to control and interact with multiple robots with autonomous robot registration. The autonomous robot registration engine (RRE) was developed to register all robots with relevant ROS topics. The ROS topic identification algorithm was developed to identify the relevant ROS topics for the publication and the subscription. The Gazebo simulator spawns all robots to interact with a user. The initial experiments were conducted with simple instructions and then changed to manage multiple instructions using a state transition diagram. The number of robots was increased to evaluate the system’s performance by measuring the robots’ start and stop response time. The authors have conducted experiments to work with the semantic interpretation from the user instruction. The mathematical equations for the delay in response time have been derived by considering each experiment’s input given and system characteristics. The Big O representation is used to analyze the running time complexity of algorithms developed. The experiment result indicated that the autonomous robot registration was successful, and the communication performance through the Web decreased gradually with the number of robots registered.Publication Embargo ROS Supported Heterogeneous Multiple Robots Registration and Communication with User Instructions(IEEE, 2022-02-23) Rajapaksha, S; Jayawardena, S; MacDonald, B. ADifferent types of heterogeneous multiple service robots are working in the same environment to help humans in many ways in a smart house. These service robots have different capabilities based on the different control and communication systems. The complexity of the programming of the robots is now reduced by using middleware like Robot Operating System (ROS). However, the communication and control of the heterogeneous service robots using very high-level instruction is still tricky because of differences in ROS topics. If a user has issued a high-level instruction to all multiple heterogeneous robots in the same environment, then all robots must complete the given task without considering the software differences in each robot. This research has developed a web-based interface where users can input high-level instruction to all multiple heterogeneous robots running in the same environment. We have used three levels of instructions. Level 01 moves robot forward for the given speed for some distance without obstacles. Level 02 is to move the robot to a specific location without obstacles. Level 03 is to navigate the robot to a goal with some obstacles in the environment. Initially, all robots need to register their software specifications and hardware specification Format (URDF) in the robot registration engine with the help of the ontology. Then all service robots act according to the instruction given by the interpreter. The proposed system was evaluated using a simulated environment with a gazebo using "Turtlebot" and "Tiago" robots. Time complexity analysis of all algorithms was completed using the Big O notation.Publication Embargo ROS Based Heterogeneous Multiple Robots Control Using High Level User Instructions(IEEE, 2021-12-07) Rajapaksha, S. K; Jayawardena, C; MacDonald, B. AHeterogeneous Multiple Robots(HMR) can be used in daily life for smart homes and industry. The differences in implementing different HMR can be minimized using middle-ware like Robot Operating System (ROS). However, the ROS topics, nodes, and message formats to subscribe and publish can differ from one robot to another. When a user expresses high-level instructions through the Web interface, all multiple robots must understand instructions uniformly and take the actions accordingly without considering each robot's internal software and hardware implementation. This paper represents an optimized ontology-based algorithm for HMR registration and control for high-level instructions. Autonomous robot registration was achieved using an ontology-based optimized algorithm. User-level high-level instructions are processed using an ontology-based algorithm to determine the corresponding actions for each robot. Finally, autonomous publication and subscription to different ROS topics were implemented using another optimized algorithm. The evaluation of the proposed algorithms was completed with Turtlebot, Husky and TiaGo robots using gazebo.Publication Open Access Multidisciplinary Design Approach for Implementation of Interactive Services(Springer Netherlands, 2011-10-14) Kuo, I. H; Jayawardena, C; Broadbent, E; MacDonald, B. AIn the design of service robots, a key research focus has been on Human Robot Interaction (HRI) required in service applications. HRI is one of the critical factors that determines the acceptability of a service robot. The user acceptance of a service robot and its applications is highly related to HRI, as HRI affects the user perception and user experience related to the robot. In this paper, a new design approach is proposed for designing and implementing HRI for service robot applications designed for real scenarios in the real-world environment. The objective of this design approach is to facilitate inter-disciplinary collaborations, which are essential for HRI research and for developing successful products. The proposed design approach was used in the design of the healthcare service robot “Cafero” developed at the University of Auckland in collaboration with the Electronic and Telecommunication Research Institute (ETRI) and Yujin Robot Company Ltd. of Korea. Vital signs measurement, medication management, entertainment and falls detection were implemented as service applications of Cafero. In the design process, UML and UMLi modelling diagrams were used to model the robot’s multi-modal and interactive behaviour. Interaction design patterns were defined to represent recurring interactions or social cues in HRI using UMLi notations. The proposed design approach emphaI- sises an iterative process to allow discovery of additional HRI requirements in the early design stage and to implement through Component-Based Software Engineering (CBSE). The design of communication initiation and user identification by Cafero is presented as a case study, in order to evaluate the proposed design approach. In this case study, enabling a service robot to act proactively to the presence of a potential user and identifying the user prior to providing healthcare services is presented. For the implementation, Open-RTM component-oriented framework was used.Publication Open Access Human-Robot Interaction Research to Improve Quality of Life in Elder Care—An Approach and Issues(Workshops at the Twenty-Fifth AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence, 2011-08-24) Broadbent, E; Jayawardena, C; Kerse, N; Stafford, R. Q; MacDonald, B. AThis paper describes a program of research that aims to develop and test healthcare robots for elder care. We describe the aims of the project, the robots developed, and studies we have performed in HRI in elder care. We highlight research design issues that have become apparent in the retirement home setting when testing robots. These issues are relevant to robotics researchers wishing to evaluate the effects of robotic care on older people’s quality of life.Publication Embargo Does the Robot Have a Mind? Mind Perception and Attitudes Towards Robots Predict Use of an Eldercare Robot(Springer Netherlands, 2014-01-01) Stafford, R. Q; MacDonald, B. A; Jayawardena, C; Wegner, D.M; Broadbent, ERobots are starting to be developed for aged care populations and some of these have been made into commercial products that have been well received. However, little is known about the psychological factors that promote acceptance or rejection of robots by older people. Finding out more about these psychological determinants of robot uptake and acceptance is the primary focus of the study described in this paper. A healthcare robot feasibility study was conducted in a retirement village. Older people (n=25) were invited to use a prototype robot with healthcare functions over a two week period. Questionnaires were completed before and after the period. It was found that residents who held significantly more positive attitudes towards robots, and perceived robot minds to have less agency (ability to do things) were more likely to use the robot. It was also found that attitudes towards robots improved over time in robot-users. Our results suggest that the cognitions older people hold about robots may influence their decisions to use robots. The study results also validate participants’ subjective self-reports of attitudes towards robots and perceptions of robot mind, against the objective measure of robot use. Interventions to foster adaptive cognitions could be developed and applied in the design, deployment and marketing of robots to promote their use and acceptance.Publication Open Access Benefits and problems of health-care robots in aged care settings: A comparison trial(WILEY, 2015-09-13) Broadbent, E; Kerse, N; Peri, K; Robinson, H; Jayawardena, C; Kuo, T; Datta, C; Stafford, R; Butler, H; MacDonald, B. A; Robins, BAim This study investigated whether multiple health-care robots could have any benefits or cause any problems in an aged care facility. Method Fifty-three residents and 53 staff participated in a non-randomised controlled trial over 12 weeks. Six robots provided entertainment, communication and health-monitoring functions in staff rooms and activity lounges. These settings were compared to control settings without robots. Results There were no significant differences between groups in resident or staff outcomes, except a significant increase in job satisfaction in the control group only. The intervention group perceived the robots had more agency and experience than the control group did. Perceived agency of the robots decreased over time in both groups. Overall, we received very mixed responses with positive, neutral and negative comments. Conclusions The robots had no major benefits or problems. Future research could give robots stronger operational roles, use more specific outcome measures, and perform cost–benefit analyses.Publication Embargo RoboStudio: A visual programming environment for rapid authoring and customization of complex services on a personal service robot(IEEE, 2012-10-07) Datta, C; Jayawardena, C; Kuo, I. H; MacDonald, B. AService robots for personal and domestic use are increasingly gaining momentum. Easy and efficient programming of such robots is an enormous research and commercial space that is beginning to be explored. In this paper, we present RoboStudio, a Visual Programming Environment (VPE) to program the interactive behavior of personal service robots. RoboStudio lies at the intersection of VPEs which aid in authoring the robot user interface and control logic. A novel contribution of this work is that it advances the research in authoring service applications on robotic platforms, specially for researchers who do development in decentralized multidisciplinary teams and validate their research goals through field trials. Furthermore, service robot programming environments is a novel area of research, particularly when it comes to expressing what the robot does in a declarative syntax.Publication Embargo Improved robot attitudes and emotions at a retirement home after meeting a robot(IEEE, 2010-09-13) Stafford, R. Q; Broadbent, E; Jayawardena, C; Unger, U; Kuo, I. H; Igic, A; Wong, R; Kerse, N; Watson, C; MacDonald, B. AThis study investigated whether attitudes and emotions towards robots predicted acceptance of a healthcare robot in a retirement village population. Residents (n = 32) and staff (n = 21) at a retirement village interacted with a robot for approximately 30 minutes. Prior to meeting the robot, participants had their heart rate and blood pressure measured. The robot greeted the participants, assisted them in taking their vital signs, performed a hydration reminder, told a joke, played a music video, and asked some questions about falls and medication management. Participants were given two questionnaires; one before and one after interacting with the robot. Measures included in both questionnaires were the Robot Attitude Scale (RAS) and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). After using the robot, participants rated the overall quality of the robot interaction. Both residents and staff reported more favourable attitudes (p <; .05) and decreases in negative affect (p <; .05) towards the robot after meeting it, compared with before meeting it. Pre-interaction emotions and robot attitudes, combined with post-interaction changes in emotions and robot attitudes, were highly predictive of participants' robot evaluations (R = .88, p <; .05). The results suggest both pre-interaction emotions and attitudes towards robots, as well as experience with the robot, are important areas to monitor and address in influencing acceptance of healthcare robots in retirement village residents and staff. The results support an active cognition model that incorporates a feedback loop based on re-evaluation after experience.