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Multiple Ways of Working with Users to Develop Physically Assistive Robots

Amal Nanavati, Max Pascher, Vinitha Ranganeni, Ethan K. Gordon, Taylor Kessler Faulkner, Siddhartha S. Srinivasa, Maya Cakmak, Patrícia Alves-Oliveira, Jens Gerken

TL;DR

The paper examines how to involve people with motor impairments in physically assistive robotics (PAR), addressing recruitment and logistical barriers that limit end-user participation. It analyzes three PAR projects—assistive feeding with a robot arm, assistive teleoperation with a mobile manipulator, and shared-control with a robot arm—from the perspective of user involvement across design, development, and evaluation. The authors discuss three guiding dimensions—individual vs. community-level insights, logistic burdens on end-users vs. researchers, and benefits to researchers vs. community—and present practical recommendations derived from community research, remote studies, home deployments, and in-the-wild trade fair testing. They also acknowledge limitations related to treating the projects as separate and propose future work to formalize these insights into a unifying framework.

Abstract

Despite the growth of physically assistive robotics (PAR) research over the last decade, nearly half of PAR user studies do not involve participants with the target disabilities. There are several reasons for this -- recruitment challenges, small sample sizes, and transportation logistics -- all influenced by systemic barriers that people with disabilities face. However, it is well-established that working with end-users results in technology that better addresses their needs and integrates with their lived circumstances. In this paper, we reflect on multiple approaches we have taken to working with people with motor impairments across the design, development, and evaluation of three PAR projects: (a) assistive feeding with a robot arm; (b) assistive teleoperation with a mobile manipulator; and (c) shared control with a robot arm. We discuss these approaches to working with users along three dimensions -- individual vs. community-level insight, logistic burden on end-users vs. researchers, and benefit to researchers vs. community -- and share recommendations for how other PAR researchers can incorporate users into their work.

Multiple Ways of Working with Users to Develop Physically Assistive Robots

TL;DR

The paper examines how to involve people with motor impairments in physically assistive robotics (PAR), addressing recruitment and logistical barriers that limit end-user participation. It analyzes three PAR projects—assistive feeding with a robot arm, assistive teleoperation with a mobile manipulator, and shared-control with a robot arm—from the perspective of user involvement across design, development, and evaluation. The authors discuss three guiding dimensions—individual vs. community-level insights, logistic burdens on end-users vs. researchers, and benefits to researchers vs. community—and present practical recommendations derived from community research, remote studies, home deployments, and in-the-wild trade fair testing. They also acknowledge limitations related to treating the projects as separate and propose future work to formalize these insights into a unifying framework.

Abstract

Despite the growth of physically assistive robotics (PAR) research over the last decade, nearly half of PAR user studies do not involve participants with the target disabilities. There are several reasons for this -- recruitment challenges, small sample sizes, and transportation logistics -- all influenced by systemic barriers that people with disabilities face. However, it is well-established that working with end-users results in technology that better addresses their needs and integrates with their lived circumstances. In this paper, we reflect on multiple approaches we have taken to working with people with motor impairments across the design, development, and evaluation of three PAR projects: (a) assistive feeding with a robot arm; (b) assistive teleoperation with a mobile manipulator; and (c) shared control with a robot arm. We discuss these approaches to working with users along three dimensions -- individual vs. community-level insight, logistic burden on end-users vs. researchers, and benefit to researchers vs. community -- and share recommendations for how other PAR researchers can incorporate users into their work.
Paper Structure (20 sections, 1 figure)

This paper contains 20 sections, 1 figure.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Contribution
  3. Related Work
  4. Participatory Design
  5. Empowerment Design
  6. Descriptions of the Three Projects
  7. Assistive Feeding with a Robot Arm
  8. Assistive Teleoperation with a Mobile Manipulator
  9. Shared-Control with a Robot Arm
  10. Discussion
  11. Individual- vs. Community-Level Insights
  12. Methods
  13. Key Takeaways
  14. Logistical Burdens on Users vs. Researchers
  15. Methods
  16. ...and 5 more sections

Figures (1)

  • Figure 1: The three projects highlighted in this work: (a) assistive feeding with a robot arm, (b) assistive teleoperation with a mobile manipulator, (c) shared control with a robot arm.