A comparison of the psychological effects of robot motion in physical and virtual environments

A mixed-methods approach was used to assess the fidelity of virtual environments as ergonomic assessment tools for human-robot interaction. Participants performed a visual search task in the physical environment while a nearby collaborative robot repeatedly extended its arm toward them. This scenario was reconstructed in two virtual environments with different levels of graphical detail. Measures of presence, task performance, workload, and anxiety were taken to determine the effect of robot motion in all three environments. Task performance decreased in response to robot motion in the physical environment, while workload and anxiety increased. This simple effect of motion was consistent across environments for measures of task performance and anxiety. However, people performed faster overall in virtual reality, and the effect of motion on workload was greatly reduced in virtual reality. Results in the virtual environments suggest that people were distracted by the sound of the robot, and that presence was affected by manipulations of immersion and coherence.