Field experiments using SPEAR: a speech control system for UGVs

Siddharth R. Chhatpar; Chris Blanco; Jeffrey Czerniak; Orin Hoffman; Amit Juneja; Tarun Pruthi; Dongqing Liu; Robert Karlsen; Jonathan Brown

doi:10.1117/12.818854

30 April 2009 Field experiments using SPEAR: a speech control system for UGVs

Siddharth R. Chhatpar, Chris Blanco, Jeffrey Czerniak, Orin Hoffman, Amit Juneja, Tarun Pruthi, Dongqing Liu, Robert Karlsen, Jonathan Brown

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 7332, Unmanned Systems Technology XI; 73320L (2009) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.818854
Event: SPIE Defense, Security, and Sensing, 2009, Orlando, Florida, United States

Abstract

This paper reports on a Field Experiment carried out by the Human Research and Engineering Directorate at Ft. Benning to evaluate the efficacy of using speech to control an Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) concurrently with a handcontroller. The SPEAR system, developed by Think-A-Move, provides speech-control of UGVs. The system picks up user-speech in the ear canal with an in-ear microphone. This property allows it to work efficiently in high-noise environments, where traditional speech systems, employing external microphones, fail. It has been integrated with an iRobot PackBot 510 with EOD kit. The integrated system allows the hand-controller to be supplemented with speech for concurrent control. At Ft. Benning, the integrated system was tested by soldiers from the Officer Candidate School. The Experiment had dual focus: 1) Quantitative measurement of the time taken to complete each station and the cognitive load on users; 2) Qualitative evaluation of ease-of-use and ergonomics through soldier-feedback. Also of significant benefit to Think-A-Move was soldier-feedback on the speech-command vocabulary employed: What spoken commands are intuitive, and how the commands should be executed, e.g., limited-motion vs. unlimited-motion commands. Overall results from the Experiment are reported in the paper.

Citation Download Citation

Siddharth R. Chhatpar, Chris Blanco, Jeffrey Czerniak, Orin Hoffman, Amit Juneja, Tarun Pruthi, Dongqing Liu, Robert Karlsen, and Jonathan Brown "Field experiments using SPEAR: a speech control system for UGVs", Proc. SPIE 7332, Unmanned Systems Technology XI, 73320L (30 April 2009); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.818854

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