title: Iconic Gestures for Robot Avatars, Recognition and Integration with Speech.
abstract: Co-verbal gestures are an important part of human communication, improving its efficiency and efficacy for information conveyance. One possible means by which such multi-modal communication might be realized remotely is through the use of a tele-operated humanoid robot avatar. Such avatars have been previously shown to enhance social presence and operator salience. We present a motion tracking based tele-operation system for the NAO robot platform that allows direct transmission of speech and gestures produced by the operator. To assess the capabilities of this system for transmitting multi-modal communication, we have conducted a user study that investigated if robot-produced iconic gestures are comprehensible, and are integrated with speech. Robot performed gesture outcomes were compared directly to those for gestures produced by a human actor, using a within participant experimental design. We show that iconic gestures produced by a tele-operated robot are understood by participants when presented alone, almost as well as when produced by a human. More importantly, we show that gestures are integrated with speech when presented as part of a multi-modal communication equally well for human and robot performances.
authors.affiliation: Bristol Robotics Laboratory, University of The West of England Bristol, UK.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bremner
authors.affiliation: School of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol Bristol, UK.
authors.forename: Ute
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Leonards
keywords: gestures; human-robot interaction; humanoid robotics; multi-modal communication; tele-operated robot