Evaluating the Impact of Adaptive Extended Reality on Human-Robot Interaction Across the Reality-Virtuality Continuum
Organizations: Ritsumeikan University, 1-1-1 Noji-Higashi, Kusatsu, Shiga 525-8577, Japan · Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), 1 Place de l’Université, Louvain-la-Neuve 1348, Belgium · Kyoto University, Yoshida-Honmachi, Sakyo, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
Abstract
As populations in developed countries age and labor shortages intensify, Cybernetic Avatars (CAs) are proposed to extend human capabilities through robotic embodiments, requiring effective Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) frameworks. Extended Reality (XR), an umbrella term for Augmented Reality (AR), Augmented Virtuality (AV), and Virtual Reality (VR), offers such interfaces, but prior research typically fixes the XR modality without evaluating its effect on task outcomes. This study examines whether the XR modality impacts HRI performance and whether an adaptive interface adjusting the level of virtuality along the Reality-Virtuality Continuum (RVC) at runtime improves it. A custom XR application interfaced with a mobile manipulator supports immersive control and runtime modality switching. In a within-participant multi-room pick-and-place experiment comparing fixed AR, AV, and VR with dynamic RVC through task metrics, the NASA-TLX, and the System Usability Scale (SUS), this study demonstrates that 1) the fixed reality modality affects HRI results, and 2) dynamically changing the modality along the RVC improves them. AR yielded significantly lower mental demand, effort, and frustration than AV and VR, while the dynamic RVC condition achieved the highest throughput and lowest workload, highlighting the value of adaptive XR interfaces for human-robot symbiosis. The implementation is available at https://github.com/CarlTornberg/XR-HRI.
Figures & tables
| Title | Description | XR Modality |
|---|---|---|
| [ 50 ] | “Augmented reality (AR) interfaces promise to address these challenges, as AR enables us to design expressive visual feedback without many of the constraints of physical reality.” | AR |
| [ 30 ] | “Augmented Reality (AR) has become a popular multidisciplinary research field over the last decades. […] In robotics, AR acts as a new medium for interaction and information exchange with autonomous systems increasing the efficiency of the Human-Robot Interaction (HRI). The most common definition of AR by Azuma [ 2 ] states that in AR “3D virtual objects are integrated into a 3D real environment in real-time” ” | AR/XR |
| [ 61 ] | “AR creates a perceptual layer to achieve the complementarity of reality and the environment. Under the premise of AR technology, Mixed Reality (MR) is a further development, using advanced computer technology, image processing technology, and human-computer interaction technology to generate a visual environment with the characteristics of virtual and real integration, in which virtual and real objects coexist and user can interact with them in realtime [ 48 ] ” | MR |
| [ 58 ] | “VAM interfaces allow users to see 3D virtual imagery in a virtual space or contextually embedded within their environment. […] can also be used hands-free when in the form of a head-mounted display (HMD) that allows for more fluid and natural interactions” “AR visualization techniques offer significant promise in HRI due to their capability to effortlessly communicate robot intent and ” “VR techniques, however, provide unique opportunities for safe, flexible, and novel environments” | VAM/XR |
| [ 3 ] | “Although the use of AR allows for enhancing HRC through the addition of virtual interfaces, cues, etc., its efficacy first needs to be tested. Such testing of AR interface can be easier to do in VR, where the virtual interfaces can be emulated in a range of scenarios as described above, and thereby would be tried against several options. This, in turn, results in an agile development of solutions that are not limited to a specific laboratory/experimental context.” | VR |
| Title | Description | XR Modality |
|---|---|---|
| [ 11 ] | “In VR-based HRI, a virtual environment (VE) aided by the necessary sensors provides the operator with an immersive sense of his/her presence at the real location undertaking the tasks” “AR can assist the users to interact intuitively with the virtual objects and spatial information for task planning within the actual working environment” | AR |
| [ 2 ] | “Recently, Virtual Reality (VR) has been explored as a potential method to simplify demonstration collection process [ 14 ] , [ 62 ] , but such approaches involve additional efforts such as creating realistic VR environments, leading to further complications. We are inspired by an alternative approach, suggested by [ 5 ] , to use Augmented Reality (AR) to enable more natural collection of demonstrations.” | AR |
| [ 27 ] | “enabling the operator to reschedule tasks on the fly, and how users prefer to coordinate and collaborate with robots. To address these, we propose an Augmented Reality interface” | AR |
| [ 38 ] | “this paper presents an Augmented Reality-assisted robot programming system […] Augmented Reality (AR) has been widely applied to develop applications to provide guidance and/or electronic user manuals to assist users in manufacturing processes” | AR |
| [ 57 ] | “explore an alternative design space: using Augmented Reality […] is inspired by prior research envisioning that Augmented Reality head-mounted displays (ARHMDs) might one-day support intuitive human-robot communication for collocated users” | AR |
| [ 41 ] | “provide digital information for increased situational awareness, […] Using AR to display information, such as robot state, progress and even intent, will enhance understanding, grounding, and thus collaboration.” | AR |
| Title | Description | XR Modality |
|---|---|---|
| [ 47 ] | “there are several examples of usage of Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR) in industry” | AR/MR |
| [ 40 ] | “human-robot interaction (HRI) requires intuitive and efficient interfaces. One of the best ways to implement this in HRI is augmented and Mixed Reality, according to [ 15 ] .” | AR/MR |
| [ 23 ] | “MR-headsets […] a more recently developed type of interface, which allows for a bigger variety of interactions.” | MR |
| [ 49 ] | “MR has been explored as a tool for effective communication between humans and robots […] hold the potential to make the robot’s internal state intuitively understandable to human collaborators by projecting its planned actions as holograms.” | MR |
| [ 29 ] | “Unlike Augmented Reality (AR), which is limited to the overlay of digital visual content onto the observed scene, MR creates immersive experiences by bringing interactive and spatially contextualized holograms into the real world.” | MR |
| [ 54 ] | “the key benefits of using MR is the freedom of moving between several points of view to resolve visual ambiguities from 3D to 2D projection” | MR |
| Title | Description | XR Modality |
|---|---|---|
| [ 26 ] | “Although the use of AR allows for enhancing HRC through the addition of virtual interfaces, cues, etc., its efficacy first needs to be tested. Such testing of AR interface can be easier to do in VR, where the virtual interfaces can be emulated in a range of scenarios as described above, and thereby would be tried against several options. This, in turn, results in an agile development of solutions that are not limited to a specific laboratory/experimental context.” | VR |
| [ 21 ] | “[…] leveraging Virtual Reality (VR) technology, which can deliver immersive user experiences with intuitive controls” | VR |
| [ 60 ] | “It is not always trivial to decide which technology is better when it comes to HRI applications. Despite this, there is a lack of studies that compare the effectiveness of VAM and screen-based interfaces for HRI.” “We chose VR because it provides an immersive remote interaction with the robot.” | VR |
| [ 45 ] | “Virtual Reality to provide demonstrations to the robotic system in a safe and simplified manner” | VR |
| [ 39 ] | Missing explanation. “To this end, we performed an experiment in Virtual Reality (VR) where a simulated robot offers tools with different degrees of visual occlusion [of the object handed over].” | VR |
| [ 19 ] | “Virtual reality has become an increasingly accepted solution in recent years to deal with these limitations and problems.” | VR |
| Cases | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time Navigating [s] | |||||
| Residuals |
| Time Navigating [s] | N | Mean | SD | SE | Coefficient of variation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AR | |||||
| AV | |||||
| VR | |||||
| RVC |
| Cases | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time Manipulating [s] | |||||
| Residuals |
| Time Manipulating [s] | N | Mean | SD | SE | Coefficient of variation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AR | |||||
| AV | |||||
| VR | |||||
| RVC |
| Cases | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Objects Grasped | |||||
| Residuals |
| Objects Grasped | N | Mean | SD | SE | Coefficient of variation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AR | |||||
| AV | |||||
| VR | |||||
| RVC |
| Mean Difference | SE | df | t | p holm | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AR | AV | |||||
| VR | ||||||
| RVC | ||||||
| AV | VR | |||||
| RVC | ||||||
| VR | RVC |
| Cases | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Objects Placed | |||||
| Residuals |
| Objects Placed | N | Mean | SD | SE | Coefficient of variation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AR | |||||
| AV | |||||
| VR | |||||
| RVC |
| Mean Difference | SE | df | t | p holm | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AR | AV | |||||
| VR | ||||||
| RVC | ||||||
| AV | VR | |||||
| RVC | ||||||
| VR | RVC |
| Cases | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Objects Placed on Incorrect Face | |||||
| Residuals |
| Objects Placed on Incorrect Face | N | Mean | SD | SE | Coefficient of variation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AR | |||||
| AV | |||||
| VR | NaN | ||||
| RVC |
| Cases | Sphericity Correction | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Objects Dropped | Greenhouse-Geisser | |||||
| Residuals | Greenhouse-Geisser |
| Objects Dropped | N | Mean | SD | SE | Coefficient of variation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AR | |||||
| AV | |||||
| VR | |||||
| RVC |
| Cases | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collisions | |||||
| Residuals |
| Collisions | N | Mean | SD | SE | Coefficient of variation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AR | |||||
| AV | |||||
| VR | |||||
| RVC |
| Condition | AR | AV | VR | RVC |
| Score |
| Cases | Sphericity Correction | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time in Modality [s] | Greenhouse-Geisser | .001 | ||||
| Residuals | Greenhouse-Geisser |
| Time in Modality [s] | N | Mean | SD | SE | Coefficient of variation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reality | |||||
| AR | |||||
| AR+ | |||||
| AV | |||||
| VR |
| Mean Difference | SE | df | t | p holm | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reality | AR | .001 | ||||
| AR+ | ||||||
| AV | ||||||
| VR | ||||||
| AR | AR+ | .001 | ||||
| AV | .001 |
| Cases | Sphericity Correction | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time Navigating | Greenhouse-Geisser | .001 | ||||
| Residuals | Greenhouse-Geisser |
| Time Navigating | N | Mean | SD | SE | Coefficient of variation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reality | |||||
| AR | |||||
| AR+ | |||||
| AV | |||||
| VR |
| Mean Difference | SE | df | t | p holm | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reality | AR | |||||
| AR+ | ||||||
| AV | ||||||
| VR | ||||||
| AR | AR+ | |||||
| AV |
| Cases | Sphericity Correction | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time Manipulating | Greenhouse-Geisser | .001 | ||||
| Residuals | Greenhouse-Geisser |
| Time Manipulating | N | Mean | SD | SE | Coefficient of variation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reality | |||||
| AR | |||||
| AR+ | |||||
| AV | |||||
| VR |
| Mean Difference | SE | df | t | p holm | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reality | AR | |||||
| AR+ | ||||||
| AV | ||||||
| VR | ||||||
| AR | AR+ | |||||
| AV |
| Cases | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Objects Grasped | .001 | ||||
| Residuals |
| Objects Grasped | N | Mean | SD | SE | Coefficient of variation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reality | NaN | ||||
| AR | |||||
| AR+ | NaN | ||||
| AV | |||||
| VR | NaN |
| Mean Difference | SE | df | t | p holm | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reality | AR | .001 | ||||
| AR+ | NaN | NaN | ||||
| AV | ||||||
| VR | NaN | NaN | ||||
| AR | AR+ | .001 | ||||
| AV | .001 |
| Cases | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Objects Placed | .001 | ||||
| Residuals |
| Objects Placed | N | Mean | SD | SE | Coefficient of variation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reality | |||||
| AR | |||||
| AR+ | |||||
| AV | |||||
| VR | NaN |
| Mean Difference | SE | df | t | p holm | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reality | AR | .001 | ||||
| AR+ | NaN | NaN | ||||
| AV | ||||||
| VR | ||||||
| AR | AR+ | .001 | ||||
| AV | .001 |
| Cases | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Objects Placed on Incorrect Face | |||||
| Residuals |
| Objects Placed on Incorrect Face | N | Mean | SD | SE | Coefficient of variation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reality | NaN | ||||
| AR | |||||
| AR+ | NaN | ||||
| AV | NaN | ||||
| VR | NaN |
| Cases | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Objects Dropped | .001 | ||||
| Residuals |
| Objects Dropped | N | Mean | SD | SE | Coefficient of variation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reality | NaN | ||||
| AR | |||||
| AR+ | NaN | ||||
| AV | NaN | ||||
| VR | NaN |
| Mean Difference | SE | df | t | p holm | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reality | AR | |||||
| AR+ | NaN | NaN | ||||
| AV | NaN | NaN | ||||
| VR | NaN | NaN | ||||
| AR | AR+ | |||||
| AV |
| Cases | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collisions in RVC | |||||
| Residuals |
| Collisions in RVC | N | Mean | SD | SE | Coefficient of variation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reality | NaN | ||||
| AR | |||||
| AR+ | NaN | ||||
| AV | NaN | ||||
| VR | NaN |
| Mean Difference | SE | df | t | p holm | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reality | AR | |||||
| AR+ | NaN | NaN | ||||
| AV | NaN | NaN | ||||
| VR | NaN | NaN | ||||
| AR | AR+ | |||||
| AV |
Appendix figures & tables16 assets
Supplementary material from the paper’s appendix.
Appendix
| Cases | Sphericity Correction | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mental Demand | Greenhouse-Geisser | .001 | ||||
| Residuals | Greenhouse-Geisser |
| Mental Demand | N | Mean | SD | SE | Coefficient of variation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AR | |||||
| AV | |||||
| VR | |||||
| RVC |
| Mean Difference | SE | df | t | p holm | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AR | AV | |||||
| VR | ||||||
| RVC | ||||||
| AV | VR | |||||
| RVC | ||||||
| VR | RVC | .001 |
| Cases | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physical Demand | |||||
| Residuals |
| Physical Demand | N | Mean | SD | SE | Coefficient of variation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AR | |||||
| AV | |||||
| VR | |||||
| RVC |
| Mean Difference | SE | df | t | p holm | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AR | AV | |||||
| VR | ||||||
| RVC | ||||||
| AV | VR | |||||
| RVC | ||||||
| VR | RVC |
| Cases | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temporal Demand | |||||
| Residuals |
| Temporal Demand | N | Mean | SD | SE | Coefficient of variation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AR | |||||
| AV | |||||
| VR | |||||
| RVC |
| Cases | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Performance | |||||
| Residuals |
| Performance | N | Mean | SD | SE | Coefficient of variation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AR | |||||
| AV | |||||
| VR | |||||
| RVC |
| Cases | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Effort | .001 | ||||
| Residuals |
| Effort | N | Mean | SD | SE | Coefficient of variation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AR | |||||
| AV | |||||
| VR | |||||
| RVC |
| Mean Difference | SE | df | t | p holm | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AR | AV | |||||
| VR | ||||||
| RVC | ||||||
| AV | VR | |||||
| RVC | ||||||
| VR | RVC |
| Cases | Sphericity Correction | Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frustration | Greenhouse-Geisser | .001 | ||||
| Residuals | Greenhouse-Geisser |
| Frustration | N | Mean | SD | SE | Coefficient of variation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AR | |||||
| AV | |||||
| VR | |||||
| RVC |
| Mean Difference | SE | df | t | p holm | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AR | AV | |||||
| VR | ||||||
| RVC | ||||||
| AV | VR | |||||
| RVC | ||||||
| VR | RVC | .001 |
Human-Robot Interaction
Human-robot interaction studies how people and robots communicate, coordinate, and safely work or live together.
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