Design and Evaluation of a Collaborative Teleoperation Interface for Multi-Operator Multi-Robot Systems in Challenging Environments

Alperen Kenan; Juan José García Cárdenas; Adriana Tapus; Paul Bremner; Manuel Giuliani

cs.ROOct 10, 2026

Design and Evaluation of a Collaborative Teleoperation Interface for Multi-Operator Multi-Robot Systems in Challenging Environments

Authors: Alperen Kenan, Juan José García Cárdenas, Adriana Tapus, Paul Bremner, Manuel Giuliani

Organizations: Bristol Robotics Laboratory, University of the West of England, Bristol, United Kingdom · Computer Science and System Engineering Department (U2IS), Autonomous Systems and Robotics Lab, ENSTA, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, Paris, France · Kempten University of Applied Sciences, Kempten, Germany

Abstract

Multi-robot systems that combine the complementary capabilities of specialised platforms are critical for complex missions in challenging, inaccessible environments. Current deployments assign an operator or operator team to each robot, with collaboration relying on operator-to-operator communication to manually coordinate heterogeneous platforms with incompatible interfaces. This operator-dependent approach increases cognitive load and limits scalability across robots from different manufacturers. This study designs and evaluates a shared-visualisation collaborative teleoperation interface to improve operator coordination, situational awareness, and the task performance in multi-operator, multi-robot systems. A comparative user study with 16 participants compared three teleoperation conditions: co-located operators with a shared interface, remote operators with a shared interface, and co-located operators with individual interfaces. Participants controlled two simulated robots in a nuclear power plant digital twin to complete disaster response tasks. Performance metrics, physiological data, and behavioural measures were recorded to assess task performance, cognitive load, and operator awareness across conditions. The co-located shared-interface condition achieved the fastest mission completion (292.8 s), outperforming remote operation (351.6 s) and individual interfaces (385.1 s), with the fewest collisions (0.9 per trial) and highest situational awareness accuracy (91.1 %). Physical co-presence was associated with reduced cognitive load, with NASA-TLX scores increasing from 38.2 in co-located to 57.7 in remote operation, supported by consistent physiological indicators. These results demonstrate that co-presence and shared interfaces provide complementary benefits, supporting workload regulation and mutual awareness respectively in multi-operator, multi-robot teleoperation.

Figures & tables

Fig. 1 : Illustration of the collaborative teleoperation interface

Fig. 2 : Three conditions used during the user studies

Fig. 3 : Ground-Floor Map of the Nuclear Plant.

Fig. 4 : Mobile robots in initial positions inside the safe zone.

Panel of Figure 5 — Fig. 5 : Disaster response task scenario components.

Fig. 6 : Collaborative UI used during the shared interface conditions.

Panel of Figure 7 — Fig. 7 : Individual UIs used on separate displays during C3.

Fig. 8 : Task performance across the three experimental conditions: mission completion time, collision count, and situational-awareness freeze-probe accuracy. Bars show means, error bars indicate pointwise 95% confidence intervals, and dots represent operator pairs ( $n=8$ per condition). Brackets indicate the planned C1–C2 and C1–C3 comparisons. ${}^{*}p_{\mathrm{Holm}}<.05$ , ${}^{**}p_{\mathrm{Holm}}<.01$ , ${}^{***}p_{\mathrm{Holm}}<.001$ .

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