Evaluation of Biomechanical and Mental Workload During Human-Robot Collaborative Pollination Task

Area of Science:

• Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC)
• Agricultural Robotics
• Biomechanics
• Cognitive Load

Background:

• Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC) offers a potential solution to pollinator shortages and robot performance challenges in agriculture.
• The specific impacts of HRC in pollination tasks remain largely unexamined.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the biomechanical and cognitive workload effects of human-robot collaborative pollination.
• To investigate the influence of additional cues and robot reliability on these effects.
• To determine the impact of robot interaction on participant anxiety and attitudes toward robots.

Main Methods:

• Sixteen participants engaged in a simulated pollination task under four HRC modes: no cue, with cue, unreliable robot, and manual control.
• Measurements included spine kinematics (L5/S1, L1/T12, T1/C7), pupillary dilation, and subjective assessments of workload, anxiety, and attitudes towards robotics.

Main Results:

• HRC decreased anxiety, reduced L5/S1 and L1/T12 joint angles and angular velocity, and lowered pupil dilation, with the 'with cue' mode showing the most significant reductions.
• Robot unreliability negated these positive effects.
• HRC led to increased neck (T1/C7) flexion angle.

Conclusions:

• Human-robot collaboration effectively reduced physical and mental workload during simulated pollination.
• The advantages of an additional cue were marginal compared to no cues.
• Further research is needed to address the increased neck joint angle and the negative impact of unreliability on back joint angles and workload.