Hand- and gaze-control of telepresence robots

Mobile robotic telepresence systems are increasingly used to promote social interaction between geographically dispersed people. People with severe motor disabilities may use eye-gaze to control a telepresence robots. However, use of gaze control for navigation of robots needs to be explored. This paper presents an experimental comparison between gaze-controlled and hand-controlled telepresence robots with a head-mounted display. Participants (n = 16) had similar experience of presence and self-assessment, but gaze control was 31% slower than hand control. Gaze-controlled robots had more collisions and higher deviations from optimal paths. Moreover, with gaze control, participants reported a higher workload, a reduced feeling of dominance, and their situation awareness was significantly degraded. The accuracy of their post-trial reproduction of the maze layout and the trial duration were also significantly lower.