Proactive Robot Assistance: Affordance-Aware Augmented Reality User Interfaces

Assistive robots have the potential to increase the autonomy and quality of life of people with disabilities [1]. Their applications include rehabilitation robots, smart wheelchairs, companion robots, mobile manipulators, and educational robots [2]. However, designing an intuitive user interface (UI) for the control of assistive robots remains a challenge, as most UIs leverage traditional control interfaces, such as joysticks and keyboards, which might be challenging and even impossible for some users. Augmented reality (AR) UIs introduce more natural interactions between people and assistive robots, potentially reaching a more diverse user base.