This paper proposes a novel human–multi-robot-system interaction approach that enjoys two main features: natural interaction and affect-based adaptation of robots behavior. Specifically, the proposed system enables interaction by means of a wrist-worn device, such as a commercial smartwatch, which allows to track user’s movements and heart activity. Thus, on the one side, the proposed system allows the user to intuitively drive the robots by establishing a natural mapping between wrist movements and robots velocity. On the other side, the system estimates user’s mental fatigue during interaction by means of the analysis of heart rate variability. The proposed interaction system adapts then the behavior of the multi-robot system when the interacting user gets overwhelmed with the interaction and control task, which is then simplified. Experimental validation is provided, to show the effectiveness of the proposed system. First, the natural and affect-based interaction are considered separately. Then, the approach is tested considering a complex realistic scenario, which is simulated in virtual reality in order to get an immersive and realistic interaction experience. The results of the experimental validation clearly show that the proposed affect-based adaptive system leads to relieving the user’s fatigue and mental workload.

中文翻译：

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人类与多机器人系统交互：一种基于自然情感的方法

本文提出了一种新颖的人机多机器人系统交互方法，该方法具有两个主要特征：自然交互和基于行为的机器人行为适应。具体地，所提出的系统使得能够借助腕戴式设备（例如商用智能手表）进行交互，该设备允许跟踪用户的运动和心脏活动。因此，一方面，所提出的系统允许用户通过在腕部运动和机器人速度之间建立自然映射来直观地驱动机器人。另一方面，该系统通过心率变异性分析来估计用户在交互过程中的精神疲劳。当交互用户被交互和控制任务淹没时，所提出的交互系统将适应多机器人系统的行为，从而简化了交互。提供了实验验证，以证明所提出系统的有效性。首先，自然和基于情感的互动是分开考虑的。然后，在考虑复杂的现实场景的情况下对该方法进行测试，并在虚拟现实中对其进行仿真，以获得沉浸式和现实的交互体验。实验验证的结果清楚地表明，所提出的基于情感的自适应系统可减轻用户的疲劳和精神负担。