Gesturing Towards Efficient Robot Control: Exploring Sensor Placement and Control Modes for Mid-Air Human-Robot Interaction

While collaborative robots effectively combine robotic precision with human capabilities, traditional control methods such as button presses or hand guidance can be slow and physically demanding. This has led to an increasing interest in natural user interfaces that integrate hand gesturebased interactions for more intuitive and flexible robot control. Therefore, this paper systematically explores mid-air robot control by comparing position and rate control modes with different state-of-the-art and novel sensor placements. A user study was conducted to evaluate each combination in terms of accuracy, task duration, perceived workload, and physical exertion. Our results indicate that position control is more efficient than rate control. Traditional desk-mounted sensors can provide a good balance between accuracy and comfort. However, robot-mounted sensors are a viable alternative for short-term, accurate control with less spatial requirements. Legmounted sensors, while comfortable, pose challenges to handeye coordination. Based on these findings, we provide design implications for improving the usability and comfort of midair human-robot interaction. Future research should extend this evaluation to a wider range of tasks and environments.