Human-Centered Evaluation of Control and Perception Interface Factors in a Teleoperational Cutting Task

Despite significant advances in teleoperated systems, optimal human performance remains a challenging task due to one key aspect, i.e. reduced situational awareness. Active telepresence is one of the major contributing factors affecting operator's situational awareness. Providing the user with multiple perspectives of the remote environment can be very beneficial, although it may also introduce challenges in maintaining effective control. Prior work has largely examined discrete manipulation tasks using single-modality assessments, whereas this study applies a multimodal neuroergonomic approach to a continuous precision-cutting task, providing first insights into control-view alignment and multi-camera perception effects. In this work, we focus on two interaction and interface design factors: (a) control interaction factor, where we compare the effects of fixed and camera view-aligned control user interfaces on task-performance; (b) perception interface factor: the impact of different visual feedback configurations on operator attention and workload state, and interaction with the interface. A telerobotic system focused on a cutting task is chosen for this evaluation as it demands precision, depth perception, and also continuous feedback. A multimodal bio-sensor network is used to record operator-centric data, i.e Eye-tracking pupil measures, gaze measures and EEG signals, and assess the proposed interfaces using a neuroergonomics framework. User-study results show that using a view-aligned control frame in a multi-camera interface significantly improves cutting quality compared to using a fixed control frame, while the display of multiple camera perspectives in the same window is preferred to a single camera per window, promoting operator visual attention with no significant impact on the mental workload.