Comparison of Three Interface Approaches for Gaze Control of Assistive Robots for Individuals with Tetraplegia
Emanuel Nunez Sardinha, Nancy Zook, Virginia Ruiz Garate, David G. Western, Marcela Munera
Abstract
Individuals with tetraplegia have their independence and quality of life severely affected. Assistive robotic arms can enhance their autonomy, but effective control interfaces are essential for optimizing their usability and performance. This study aims to evaluate the performance and user experience of three control interfaces for an assistive robotic arm: Graphical User Interfaces (GUI), Embedded Interface, and Directional Gaze. Thirty-three able-bodied participants were recruited to control an assistive robotic arm through the three different interfaces in a between-subjects experiment. Performance was measured using the Yale-CMU-Berkeley (YCB) Block Pick and Place Protocol. Usability (SUS) and task, workload (NASATLX) were measured through subjective questionnaires. Additionally, we report saccades per minute and fixation duration. The results revealed statistically significant differences showing that Embedded and GUI interfaces, when compared to the Directional Gaze interface, can lead to lower workloads and higher performance in pick-up tasks.
BibTeX
@inproceedings{icra2025_comparisonofthre,
title = {Comparison of Three Interface Approaches for Gaze Control of Assistive Robots for Individuals with Tetraplegia},
author = {Emanuel Nunez Sardinha and Nancy Zook and Virginia Ruiz Garate and David G. Western and Marcela Munera},
booktitle = {ICRA 2025},
year = {2025}
}