Vocalics in Human-Drone Interaction

As the presence of flying robots continues to grow in both commercial and private sectors, it necessitates an understanding of appropriate methods for nonverbal interaction with humans. While visual cues, such as gestures incorporated into trajectories, are more apparent and thoroughly researched, a...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lieser, Marc, Schwanecke, Ulrich
Format: Conference Proceeding
Language:English
Subjects:
Acoustic communication (telecommunication)
Acoustics
Drones
Loudspeakers
Noise
Quadrotors
Robot sensing systems
Rotors
Trajectory
Visualization
Online Access:Request full text
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Summary:As the presence of flying robots continues to grow in both commercial and private sectors, it necessitates an understanding of appropriate methods for nonverbal interaction with humans. While visual cues, such as gestures incorporated into trajectories, are more apparent and thoroughly researched, acoustic cues have remained unexplored, despite their potential to enhance human-drone interaction. Given that additional audiovisual and sensory equipment is not always desired or practicable, and flight noise often masks potential acoustic communication in rotary-wing drones, such as through a loudspeaker, the rotors themselves offer potential for nonverbal communication. In this paper, the consequential sound during the flight of a quadrotor is utilized and modified to carry acoustic information while maintaining the visually perceived flight characteristics. A user study (N=192) demonstrates that acoustically augmenting the trajectories of two aerial gestures with the proposed approach makes them more easily distinguishable. This enhancement contributes to human-drone interaction through onboard means, particularly in situations where the human cannot see or look at the drone.
ISSN:1944-9437
DOI:10.1109/RO-MAN60168.2024.10731428