Trustworthy Delayed Teleoperation Via an Imperfect Regolith Model
Joe Louca, John Vrublevskis, Kerstin Eder, Antonia Tzemanaki
AI summary
Problem
Multi-second signal delays in lunar teleoperation impair operator performance, increase supervisory 'move-and-wait' behavior, and degrade trust in the robotic system.
Approach
A user study with 26 participants compared delayed direct teleoperation against model-mediated teleoperation conditions that provided real-time visual or visuo-haptic feedback from a lightweight, imperfect regolith simulation.
Key results
- 12–13% increase in self-reported trust under MMT conditions
- Significantly faster task completion and reduced 'move-and-wait' behavior
- No significant additional benefit from adding haptic feedback to visual MMT
- Approximate regolith simulation successfully compensates for multi-second communication delays
Why it matters
This proves that lightweight, imperfect virtual models can effectively restore operator trust and efficiency in delayed space missions, guiding the development of future lunar robotic systems.
Abstract
Long-distance teleoperation will enable forthcom- ing scientific and commercial developments on the lunar surface such as in-situ resource utilisation. However, the large distances involved in these applications introduce multi-second signal delays, which may impair user performance and lead to reduced trust in the system. This work presents a user study of 26 participants exploring the impact of open-loop model-mediated teleoperation (MMT) in providing real-time feedback alongside a delayed video stream of the remote regolith simulant sample collection task. In this system, an imperfect but computationally efficient model was employed to visuo-haptically render the simulant. Three conditions were examined: MMT with visual feedback, MMT with visuo-haptic feedback, and direct teleop- eration with delayed visual feedback. Users reported greater trust scores in the visual and visual-haptic MMT conditions (+13%, +12%, respectively) compared with delayed direct teleoperation. In addition, they demonstrated more trusting behaviour in the MMT conditions by reducing the duration of ‘wait’ periods. Performance metrics were also improved in the MMT conditions (faster completion time), although no significant differences were observed between the two MMT feedback types. These results suggest that, despite using an approximate representation of a complex environment, MMT is a valuable tool for improving performance and developing trust in delayed teleoperation systems.