Towards Human-Robot Teaming through Augmented Reality and Gaze-Based Attention Control

Abstract: Robots are now increasingly integrated into various real world applications and domains. In these new domains, robots are mostly employed to improve, in some ways, the work done by humans. So, the need for effective Human-Robot Teaming (HRT) capabilities grows. These capabilities usually involve the dynamic collaboration between humans and robots at different levels of involvement, leveraging the strengths of both to efficiently navigate complex situations. Crucial to this collaboration is the ability of robotic systems to adjust their level of autonomy to match the needs of the task and the human team members. This paper introduces a system designed to control attention using HRT through the use of ground robots and augmented reality (AR) technology. Traditional methods of controlling attention, such as pointing, touch, and voice commands, sometimes fall short in precision and subtlety. Our system overcomes these limitations by employing AR headsets to display virtual visual markers. These markers act as dynamic cues to attract and shift human attention seamlessly, irrespective of the robot's physical location.