Evaluation of control factors affecting the operator's immersion and performance in robotic teleoperation

This paper presents the results of an experimental study in which users teleoperating a mobile robot evaluated three controllers: a keyboard, a game controller, and a touchpad interface. It is motivated by the need to engage a broader, non-expert user audience in teleoperation as robots become more prevalent in everyday applications. Analysis focuses on how specific control elements and the user's comfort with a device improve the operator's sense of immersion in the task and how this alters performance. Our results show that perceived controllability of the controller, users' level of technological anxiety, and the physical nature of feedback from the controller had an effect on user feelings of immersion and presence. Our findings have implications for the development of controllers that can be used for teleoperating robots by a broad user audience.