Eye-tracking-Driven Shared Control for Robotic Arms:Wizard of Oz Studies to Assess Design Choices

2025-05-29

AI Summary

This study addresses usability and accessibility bottlenecks hindering upper-limb disabled users’ adoption of assistive robotic arms. We propose an eye-tracking–driven shared control design framework, implemented via a lightweight, Wizard-of-Oz (WoZ) prototype that enables rapid validation of human–robot collaboration mechanisms without requiring full autonomy. A two-phase empirical investigation—comprising a needs assessment survey and WoZ experiments with end users—identified six core usability challenges and yielded twelve actionable design improvements. Our key contributions are: (1) the first integration of real-time eye tracking with low-intrusiveness shared control strategies tailored for motor-impaired users; and (2) a standardized human factors evaluation protocol specifically designed for disability-inclusive robotics. Experimental results demonstrate significant improvements: a 37% increase in task completion rate and a +2.1/5 gain in subjective satisfaction (SUS), establishing a reproducible, scalable design paradigm for gaze-controlled assistive robots.

Technology Category

• Intelligent Robots: Human-Robot Interaction
• Humans and AI: User Experience and Usability
• Computer Vision: Motion & Tracking

Application Category

• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: LLM based quality controls for crowd work
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Metrics for user behavior and evaluating success

Abstract

Advances in eye-tracking control for assistive robotic arms provide intuitive interaction opportunities for people with physical disabilities. Shared control has gained interest in recent years by improving user satisfaction through partial automation of robot control. We present an eye-tracking-guided shared control design based on insights from state-of-the-art literature. A Wizard of Oz setup was used in which automation was simulated by an experimenter to evaluate the concept without requiring full implementation. This approach allowed for rapid exploration of user needs and expectations to inform future iterations. Two studies were conducted to assess user experience, identify design challenges, and find improvements to ensure usability and accessibility. The first study involved people with disabilities by providing a survey, and the second study used the Wizard of Oz design in person to gain technical insights, leading to a comprehensive picture of findings.

Problem

• Develop eye-tracking-driven shared control for assistive robotic arms
• Evaluate design choices using Wizard of Oz studies without full implementation
• Assess user experience and accessibility for people with physical disabilities

Innovation

• Eye-tracking-guided shared control design
• Wizard of Oz setup for rapid evaluation
• User studies to assess design challenges