Haptic interactions with multi-robot swarms using manipulability

Abstract

This paper investigates how haptic interactions can be defined for enabling a single operator to control and interact with a team of mobile robots. Since there is no unique or canonical mapping from the swarm configuration to the forces experienced by the operator, a suitable mapping must be developed. To this end, multi-agent manipulability is proposed as a potentially useful mapping, whereby the forces experienced by the operator relate to how inputs, injected at precise locations in the team, translate to swarm-level motions. Small forces correspond to directions in which it is easy to move the swarm, while larger forces correspond to more costly directions. Initial experimental results support the viability of the proposed, haptic, human-swarm interaction mapping, through a user study where operators are tasked with driving a collection of robots through a series of way points.