Intent communication in navigation through the use of light and screen indicators

Abstract

Human's ability to perceive intent plays a crucial role in achieving smooth and efficient navigation. At the present state, even with the state-of-the-art anthropomorphic robots, displaying human-like non-verbal communication (kinesics) is a challenging task. This poses a significant difficulty in performing legible navigation behavior for robots. In this paper, we look into light (turn indicator) and screen (arrow indicator) indicators as a means of overcoming the shortcomings of the robot's non-verbal communication abilities. Our results show a statistically significant improvement in perceived comfort, predictability, and performance with the use of light indicators.