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User confidence and electrodermal activity during haptic exploration for perceptual comparisons using a robotic
Heather M Capel1, Thaiany Pedrozo Campos Antunes1, Lina Becerra Puyo1
1Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Assistive Technology : the Official Journal of RESNA
|January 8, 2024
Summary
Assistive robots with haptic feedback can help children with physical impairments explore objects. Researchers studied user confidence and electrodermal activity (EDA) to assess stress and accuracy when using these systems.
Area of Science:
- Rehabilitation Engineering
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Children with physical impairments face challenges in haptic exploration due to difficulties with hand movements.
- Assistive robotic systems offer potential for haptic exploration but require evaluation for user experience.
- Assessing user uncertainty and stress is crucial for understanding the efficacy of these systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate user confidence and electrodermal activity (EDA) as measures of uncertainty and stress during robotic-assisted haptic exploration.
- To compare haptic exploration using a robotic system versus manual exploration in unimpaired adults and children.
- To determine if children can accurately self-report confidence when using assistive robotic systems.
Main Methods:
- Twenty adults and ten children without physical impairments participated in a randomized crossover study.
- Participants performed haptic exploration of object properties (size, roughness, hardness, shape) using both a robotic system and manual exploration.
- User confidence ratings and electrodermal activity (EDA) were recorded during the tasks.
Main Results:
- Adults reported lower confidence and showed lower accuracy when using the robotic system compared to manual exploration.
- Electrodermal activity (EDA) was lower in adults using the robotic system, suggesting reduced physiological arousal.
- Children's confidence self-ratings appeared unreliable, and their EDA responses were variable.
Conclusions:
- Robotic-assisted haptic exploration may impact user confidence and accuracy, particularly in adults.
- Electrodermal activity (EDA) shows potential as an objective stress measure, though interpretation requires care, especially in children.
- Further research is needed to optimize assistive robotic systems for effective haptic exploration by children with physical impairments.
