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Multimodal Interface Technologies for UAV Ground Control Stations

A Comparative Analysis

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Abstract

This paper examines different technologies that can be applied in the design and development of a ground control station for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) equipped with multimodal interfaces. Multimodal technologies employ multiple sensory channels/modalities for information transmission as well as for system control. Examples of these technologies could be haptic feedback, head tracking, auditory information (3D audio), voice control, tactile displays, etc. The applicability and benefits of those technologies is analyzed for a task consisting in the acknowledgement of alerts in an UAV ground control station composed by three screens and managed by a single operator. For this purpose, several experiments were conducted with a group of individuals using different combinations of modal conditions (visual, aural and tactile).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Robotics, Vision and Control Group, University of Seville, Avd. de los Descubrimientos s/n, 41092, Sevilla, Spain

    I. Maza, F. Caballero & A. Ollero

  2. Boeing Research & Technology Europe, Canada Real de las Merinas, 1-3, Bldg 4, 28042, Madrid, Spain

    R. Molina & N. Peña

  3. Center for Advanced Aerospace Technology (CATEC), Seville, Spain

    A. Ollero

Authors
  1. I. Maza
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  2. F. Caballero
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  3. R. Molina
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  4. N. Peña
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  5. A. Ollero
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to I. Maza.

Additional information

This work is partially supported by the CONET Network of Excellence (ICT-224053) funded by the European Commission under FP7, the ROBAIR Project funded by the Spanish Research and Development Program (DPI2008-03847) and the ATLANTIDA Project leaded by Boeing Research & Technology Europe.

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Maza, I., Caballero, F., Molina, R. et al. Multimodal Interface Technologies for UAV Ground Control Stations . J Intell Robot Syst 57, 371–391 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10846-009-9351-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10846-009-9351-9

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