Safety and control enhancement in tele-operated physical human-robot interactions

1 . An electronic device, comprising:

circuitry configured to:

receive robot capability parameters associated with a human-machine interaction (HMI) device;

receive touch parameters associated with a physical-interaction of the HMI device and a user;

receive control parameters associated with an operator of the HMI device to control the physical-interaction of the HMI device;

control the physical interaction of the HMI device based on the received robot capability parameters, the received touch parameters, and the received control parameters;

determine a physical response of the user, based on the control of the physical interaction of the HMI device;

determine safety metrics associated with the user, based on the determined physical response, the received robot capability parameters, and the received touch parameters;

determine control metrics associated with the operator, based on the received robot capability parameters, and the received control parameters; and

control the physical interaction of the HMI device, further based on the determined safety metrics and the determined control metrics, wherein the circuitry is further configured to execute a co-design evaluation procedure comprising at least two iterations, wherein each iteration includes:

(i) receiving one or more subjective metrics indicating a perceived safety or perceived comfort of the user with respect to the physical interaction;

(ii) receiving one or more objective metrics indicative of the physical response of the user captured by one or more sensors during the physical interaction; and

(iii) updating at least one of the touch parameters or the control parameters for a subsequent iteration based on the subjective metrics and the objective metrics.

2 . The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the robot capability parameters associated with the HMI device includes at least one of: a form factor parameter of the HMI device, a level of autonomy of the HMI device, or a degree of freedom of the HMI device.

3 . The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the touch parameters include at least one of: an orientation of the HMI device, a speed of a part of the HMI device, a force applied by the HMI device, a time duration for an operation of the HMI device, or a contact zone between the HMI device and the user.

4 . The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the control parameters associated with the operator include at least one of: operator-control freedom parameters associated with the HMI device, a touch-based feedback from the patient, or a user interface control associated with the operator.

5 . The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the determined safety metrics associated with the user includes at least one of: a trust level of the user associated with the HMI device, a comfort level of the user associated with the HMI device, or a safety level of the user associated with the HMI device.

6 . The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the physical response of the user includes at least one of: a body movement of the user, a gaze of the user, a verbal response of the user, or a facial response of the user.

7 . The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the control metrics include at least one of: a physical load on the operator, a mental load on the operator, a level of control of operator, a level of awareness of the operator, or a task performance by the HMI device.

8 . The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to: receive user-background parameters associated with the user, wherein the received user-background parameters include at least one of: a physical condition of the user, an age of the user, a gender of the user, or an ethnicity of the user.

9 . The electronic device according to claim 8 , wherein the received user-background parameters are correlated with a trust level of the user associated with the HMI device.

10 . The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to: receive operator-background parameters associated with the operator, wherein the received operator-background parameters include at least one of: an identity of the operator, a type of operation of the operator, a gender of the operator, and a relationship between a patient and the operator.

11 . The electronic device according to claim 10 , wherein the received operator-background parameters are correlated with a trust level of the user associated with the HMI device.

12 . The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to: determine first communication metrics associated with the user and the HMI device; and determine second communication metrics associated with the user and the operator, wherein a trust level of the user of the HMI device is correlated with the determined first communication metrics and the determined second communication metrics.

13 . A method, comprising:

in an electronic device:

receiving robot capability parameters associated with a human-machine interaction (HMI) device;

receiving touch parameters associated with a physical interaction of the HMI device and a user;

receiving control parameters associated with an operator of the HMI device to control the physical interaction of the HMI device;

controlling the physical interaction of the HMI device based on the received robot capability parameters, the received touch parameters, and the received control parameters;

determining a physical response of the user, based on the control of the physical interaction of the HMI device;

determining safety metrics associated with the user, based on the determined physical response, the received robot capability parameters, and the received touch parameters;

determining control metrics associated with the operator, based on the received robot capability parameters, and the received control parameters; and

controlling the physical interaction of the HMI device, further based on the determined safety metrics and the determined control metrics; and

executing a co-design evaluation procedure comprising at least two iterations, wherein each iteration includes: receiving one or more subjective metrics indicating a perceived safety or perceived comfort of the user with respect to the physical interaction; receiving one or more objective metrics indicative of the physical response of the user captured by one or more sensors during the physical interaction; and updating at least one of the touch parameters or the control parameters for a subsequent iteration based on the subjective metrics and the objective metrics.

14 . The method according to claim 13 , wherein the robot capability parameters associated with the HMI device includes at least one of: a form factor parameter of the HMI device, a level of autonomy of the HMI device, or a degree of freedom of the HMI device.

15 . The method according to claim 13 , wherein the touch parameters include at least one of: an orientation of the HMI device, a speed of a part of the HMI device, a force applied by the HMI device, a time duration for an operation of the HMI device, or a contact zone between the HMI device and the user.

16 . The method according to claim 13 , wherein the control parameters associated with the operator include at least one of: operator-control freedom parameters associated with the HMI device, a touch-based feedback from the patient, or a user interface control associated with the operator.

17 . The method according to claim 13 , wherein the determined safety metrics associated with the user includes at least one of: a trust level of the user associated with the HMI device, a comfort level of the user associated with the HMI device, or a safety level of the user associated with the HMI device.

18 . The method according to claim 13 , wherein the physical response of the user includes at least one of: a body movement of the user, a gaze of the user, a verbal response of the user, or a facial response of the user.

19 . The method according to claim 13 , wherein the control metrics include at least one of: a physical load on the operator, a mental load on the operator, a level of control of operator, a level of awareness of the operator, or a task performance by the HMI device.

20 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon, computer-executable instructions that when executed by an electronic device, causes the electronic device to execute operations, the operations comprising:

receiving robot capability parameters associated with a human-machine interaction (HMI) device;

receiving touch parameters associated with a physical interaction of the HMI device and a user;

receiving control parameters associated with an operator of the HMI device to control the physical interaction of the HMI device;

controlling the physical interaction of the HMI device based on the received robot capability parameters, the received touch parameters, and the received control parameters;

determining a physical response of the user, based on the control of the physical interaction of the HMI device;

determining safety metrics associated with the user, based on the determined physical response, the received robot capability parameters, and the received touch parameters;

determining control metrics associated with the operator, based on the received robot capability parameters, and the received control parameters; and

controlling the physical interaction of the HMI device, further based on the determined safety metrics and the determined control metrics, wherein the operations further comprise executing a co-design evaluation procedure comprising at least two iterations, wherein each iteration includes: receiving one or more subjective metrics indicating a perceived safety or perceived comfort of the user with respect to the physical interaction; receiving one or more objective metrics indicative of the physical response of the user captured by one or more sensors during the physical interaction; and updating at least one of the touch parameters or the control parameters for a subsequent iteration based on the subjective metrics and the objective metrics.