TASK switching and multi-robot teams

Abstract

Determining whether it is possible for a single human to manage a team of multiple robots is an important question given current trends in robotics. Restricting attention to managing a team of multiple robots where a single human must be able to analyze video from each robot, we review how neglect time and interaction time of the interface-robot system provide a test for feasibility of a team. We then present a feasibility test that is applicable if the cost of switching attention between multiple robots or multiple tasks can become prohibitive. We then establish that switch costs can be high, and show that different tasks impose different switch costs. © 2005 Springer.