Tal Oron-Gilad

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Verified

Tal verified their affiliation via an institutional email.

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• Ph.D.
• Professor (Full) at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

It is important to encourage older adults to remain active when interacting with assistive robots. This study proposes a schematic model for integrating levels of automation (LOAs) and transparency (LoTs) in assistive robots to match the preferences and expectations of older adults. Metrics to evaluate LOA and LoT design combinations are defined. W...

The field of human–drone interaction (HDI) has investigated an increasing number of applications for social drones, all while focusing on the drone’s inherent ability to fly, thus overpassing interaction opportunities, such as a drone in its perched (i.e., non-flying) state. A drone cannot constantly fly and a need for more realistic HDI is needed,...

This study examined the effect of mass customization of a socially assistive robot (SAR) on older-adult users’ attitudes and behaviors toward the robot. Mass customization, actively modifying aspects of a product by users before use, was proven to increase positive reactions towards products. Thirty-one older-adult participants were invited one at...

Alerts in the cockpit must be robust, difficult to ignore, and easily recognized. Tactile alerts can provide means to direct the pilot's attention in the already visual-auditory overloaded cockpit environment. This research examined the thigh as a placement for vibrotactile display in the cockpit. The authors (a) report initial findings concerning...

Abstract This research evaluates the aesthetics and usability of various in-vehicle electronic navigation map configurations. Study 1 adapted the aesthetics scale (Lavie and Tractinsky, 2004) to accommodate evaluations of map displays. Study 2 examined map displays that vary in the amount of data presented, their abstraction level and color schema...

Proxemics is a crucial aspect of social robot navigation that studies how people utilize the physical space around them and position themselves relative to others. This exploratory user study looked at the interaction distances users preferred in human-robot interaction with a mobile teleoperated robot; the distances were utilized to design appropr...

Deploying robots in human environments requires effective social robot navigation. This article focuses on proxemics, proposing a new taxonomy and suggesting future directions by analyzing state-of-the-art studies and identifying research gaps. The various factors that affect the dynamic properties of proxemics patterns in human-robot interaction a...

We propose that social robots can enhance their social abilities by supporting peoples’ emotional needs. We examined this concept by implementing four different mechanisms aimed at providing Emotional Support in a personal drone. These mechanisms (Affective Empathy, Cognitive Empathy, Positive Emotion Regulation (PER), and a Reasoning mechanism (yo...

This study examines the impact of motion design on user perceptions and interactions with robotic arms, which are expanding from industrial applications to supporting daily human tasks. The research investigates how different motion components influence user perceptions and preferences. Employing an online questionnaire, we analyze participants’ re...

This paper presents the Context-based Design Toolkit (CoDeT) methodology – a practical toolkit designed to facilitate collaborative design and evaluation of Socially Assistive Robots (SARs). CoDeT elicits user and other stakeholder needs, perceptions, and preferences. The methodology for creating a CoDeT is three-phased. The first phase is the Cont...

Objectives: Currently, pedestrians' road-crossing decisions depend on the traffic at the crossing point, crossing opportunities, and circumstantial elements. Longer wait times on the curb and time pressure raise the number of traffic violations among pedestrians. The era of fully autonomous vehicles (FAVs) promises new interactions. External Human...

Interacting with domestic service robots (DSRs) will change from one-to-one to one-to-multiple, forming new possibilities for reciprocal relationships among DSRs and humans. We distributed an online questionnaire to collect preferences and stances regarding DSRs. Respondents were introduced to one of four use cases where a cooking robot and a clean...

Robots are becoming increasingly important for supporting people's well-being, such as their use for emotional support, which leverages their physical embodiment to enhance companionship. Recent research works have opened avenues for aerial robots (i.e., drones) to serve as emotional support providers. This paper investigates such social drones' vi...

Social norms should be considered when designing the behavior of social robots. Politeness is a common social norm in human-human interactions, which can influence human-robot interaction. We present an exploratory, experimental design for non-verbal aspects of politeness of a robotic manipulator. Polite behaviors were defined using a combination o...

Socially assistive robots (SARs) are becoming more prevalent in everyday life, emphasizing the need to make them socially acceptable and aligned with users' expectations. Robots' appearance impacts users' behaviors and attitudes towards them. Therefore, product designers choose visual qualities to give the robot a character and to imply its functio...

Although walking, the most ancient mode of transportation, offers a variety of physical, mental and environmental health benefits, it is not without challenges. Road crashes are one of the main causes of injuries and fatalities worldwide, with pedestrians being a major risk group. Aiming to create a safer, more walkable urban environment for child-...

With the increasing adoption of AI as a crucial component of business strategy, the challenge of establishing trust between human and AI teammates remains a key issue. The project "We are in this together" highlights current theories on team trust in human-AI teams and proposes a research model that integrates insights from Industrial and Organizat...

Medical clowns help hospitalized children in reducing pain and anxiety symptoms and increase the level of satisfaction in children's wards. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of medical clowns around the world. Furthermore, isolated children can not enjoy this service. This study explored the concept of a Robotic Medical Clown (RMC) and its role. W...

Socially assistive robots (SARs) are becoming more prevalent in everyday life, emphasizing the need to make them socially acceptable and aligned with users' expectations. Robots' appearance impacts users' behaviors and attitudes towards them. Therefore, product designers choose visual qualities to give the robot a character and to imply its functio...

Robots' visual qualities (VQs) impact people's perception of their characteristics and affect users' behaviors and attitudes toward the robot. Recent years point toward a growing need for Socially Assistive Robots (SARs) in various contexts and functions, interacting with various users. Since SAR types have functional differences, the user experien...

This paper focuses on how the autonomy level of an assistive robot that offers support for older adults in a daily task and its feedback affect the interaction. Identifying the level of automation (LOA) that prioritizes older adults’ preferences while avoiding passiveness and sedentariness is challenging. The feedback mode should match the cognitiv...

User Confusion leads to misunderstandings about the robot or the situation, and influences customer satisfaction. This study evaluates users’ understanding of commercially available robot statuses presented by LED indicators. Images and videos of indicators of nine robots were taken from manufacturers’ websites and were manipulated to assess how sp...

There is a knowledge gap regarding which types of failures robots undergo in domestic settings and how these failures influence customer experience. We classified 10,072 customer reviews of small utilitarian domestic robots on Amazon by the robotic failures described in them, grouping failures into twelve types and three categories (Technical, Inte...

Socially assistive robots (SARs) aim to provide assistance through social interaction. Previous studies contributed to understanding users` perceptions and preferences regarding existing commercially available SARs. Yet, very few studies regarding SARs' appearance used designated SAR designs, and even fewer evaluated isolated visual qualities (VQ)....

Robots' visual qualities (VQs) impact people's perception of their characteristics and affect users' behaviors and attitudes toward the robot. Recent years point toward a growing need for Socially Assistive Robots (SARs) in various contexts and functions, interacting with various users. Since SAR types have functional differences, the user experien...

With the increased use of unmanned aerial and ground systems in the military environment, the question of what information to distribute to ground military operators arises. Generally, ground operators prefer ground views over aerial ones. Aerial views can generate broader understanding of the environment and increase comprehension of the situation...

Drivers of partially automated vehicles are relieved from parts of the driving tasks allocated to the automated driver. This reduction in driving demands encourages them to engage with nondriving related tasks, which may impair awareness of the road environment once a takeover request (TOR) is initiated. This article examined the four suggested str...

In three laboratory experiments, we examine the impact of personally relevant failures (PeRFs) on users’ perceptions of a collaborative robot. PeR is determined by how much a specific issue applies to a particular person, i.e., it affects one's own goals and values. We hypothesized that PeRFs would reduce trust in the robot and the robot's Likeabil...

Interaction with and dependency on intelligent autonomous systems, may bring about feelings such as discomfort or fear. Users’ willingness to accept new technologies can be hampered by unwanted emotions like discomfort, making the study of the onset of discomfort essential for future technology design and implementation. Interest in discomfort has...

Caregivers in eldercare can benefit from telepresence robots that allow them to perform a variety of tasks remotely. In order for such robots to be operated effectively and efficiently by non-technical users, it is important to examine if and how the robotic system’s level of automation (LOA) impacts their performance. The objective of this work wa...

Research on older adults' interaction with socially assistive robots (SARs) is evolving. Participatory design (PD) strategies can support designers in developing SARs that meet older adults' needs, capabilities, and preferences. Still, there is a gap between PD elicitation methods and the generation of design requirements. We aim to bridge this gap...

Digitization in the battlefield enables bi-directional graphic communication, i.e., sharing pictures or video feeds derived from unmanned systems, among distributed elements. Introducing robotic technologies at the battalion level is aimed to support shorter OODA (observe-orient-decide-act) cycles and more agility. Our focus is on developing bi-dir...

Objective Evaluating the ability of a Gibsonian-inspired artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm to reduce the cognitive workloads of military Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) operators. Background Military UAV operators use the command-and-control (C2) map for developing mission-relevant situation awareness (SA). Yet C2 maps are overloaded with infor...

This study examines whether allowing a certain level of user customization of a socially assistive robot (SAR) affects users' perception of the robot and improves acceptance. Two hundred thirty-nine respondents participated in an online study of a telepresence-assistive robot. We formed three groups of respondents who differed in their ability to m...

The EU-H2020 RESIST project aims to increase the resilience of transport operations in extreme events on bridges and tunnels. • We present a theoretical module for assessing highway users' behavior under stress. It incorporates psychological and behavioral dimensions of safety and risk, critical for communicating with road users. • We identified th...

As part of the EU-H2020 RESIST project, which aims to increase the resilience of transport operations in extreme events on bridges and tunnels, we present a theoretical module for assessing highway users' behavior under stress. The module incorporates psychological and behavioral dimensions of safety and risk that impact operational capacity and ar...

In three laboratory experiments, we examine the impact of personally relevant failures (PeRFs) on perceptions of a collaborative robot. PeR is determined by how much a specific issue applies to a particular person, i.e., it affects one's own goals and values. We hypothesized that PeRFs would reduce trust in the robot and the robot's Likeability and...

There is a knowledge gap regarding which types of failures robots undergo in domestic settings and how these failures influence customer experience. We classified 10,072 customer reviews of small utilitarian domestic robots on Amazon by the robotic failures described in them, grouping failures into twelve types and three categories (Technical, Inte...

This article presents an exploratory study aimed at: (i) understanding participants’ first impression of the Cyton Gamma 1500, a small machine-like robot arm, and (ii) designing robot body language to convey certain intentions with regard to a personal assistant robotic application. The between-group study comprised of three distinct groups of part...

For domestic service robots (DSRs) to be successful, their design must accommodate user needs and preferences when working from home. This study explores whether DSR usage patterns change when people spend more time at home and whether active observation of robotic behaviors (which is more likely to occur when working from home) impacts the percept...

Traffic violations are deliberate deviations from safe driving rules associated with enhanced risks for crash involvement, impacted by traits and demographics. Violations tend to decrease with age, males and young drivers tend to make more violations. But some studies reported the opposite or no sex differences. We argue that part of this ambiguity...

Abstract: Although walking, the most ancient mode of transportation, offers a variety of physical, mental and environmental health benefits, it is not without challenges. Road crashes are one of the main causes of injuries and fatalities worldwide, with pedestrians being a major risk group. Aiming to create a safer, more walkable urban environment...

This study examines the effect of a COVID-19 Officer Robot (COR) on passersby compliance and the effects of its minor design manipulations on human–robot interaction. A robotic application was developed to ensure participants entering a public building comply with COVID restrictions of a green pass and wearing a face mask. The participants’ attitud...

This study examines the effect of a COVID-19 Officer Robot (COR) on passersby compliance and the effects of its minor design manipulations on human-robot interaction. A robotic application was developed to ensure participants entering a public building comply with COVID restrictions of a green pass and wearing a face mask. The participants' attitud...

A socially assistive robot (SAR) can support children in developmental and well-being aspects. Children's tendency to anthropomorphize and pretend play contributes to their ability to engage with robots and establish relationships. The robot's visual aesthetics influences users' initial judgments and is essential for creating first impressions, tru...

Caregivers in eldercare can benefit from telepresence robots that allow them to perform a variety of tasks remotely. In order for such robots to be operated effectively and efficiently by non-technical users, it is important to examine if and how the robotic system's level of automation (LOA) impacts their performance. The objective of this work wa...

To accomplish their missions, the operators of military unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) aggregate and process information from multiple sources under time constraints, while experiencing partial sensory deprivation. We aimed to design, develop, and evaluate the need for designated information aids in the form of vi-sualizations of spatial and tempo...

Unexpected robot failures are inevitable. We propose to leverage socio-technical relations within the human-robot ecosystem to support adaptable strategies for handling unexpected failures. The Theory of Graceful Extensibility is used to understand how characteristics of the ecosystem can influence its ability to respond to unexpected events. By ex...

This study provides user-studies aimed at exploring factors influencing the interaction between older adults and a robotic table setting assistant. The in-fluence of the level of automation (LOA) and level of transparency (LOT) on the quality of the interaction was considered. Results revealed that the interaction effect of LOA and LOT significantl...

Feedback design is an important aspect of person-following robots for older adults. This paper presents a user-centred design approach to ensure the design is focused on the needs and preferences of the users. A sequence of user studies with a total of 35 older adults (aged 62 years and older) was conducted to explore their preferences regarding fe...

Relationships are crucial for human existence. People form relationships with other humans, pets, objects, and places. We argue that the nature of human-SAR (Socially assistive robot) relationship changes by context of use and interaction level. Therefore, context and interaction must be incorporated into the design requirements. Earlier studies id...

Operating a small carry-on unmanned aerial system (UAS) alone is challenging. Research on facilitating single-operator work has focused mainly on payload operation and health monitoring. Little focus has been given to mission-related aspects and how the command and control (C2) map display contributes to mission accomplishment. This study uses cogn...

To accomplish their missions, the operators of military Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) aggregate and process information from multiple sources under time constraints, while experiencing partial sensory deprivation. We aimed to design, develop, and evaluate the need for designated information aids in the form of visualizations of spatial and tempor...

This study explored pedestrians’ understanding of Fully Autonomous Vehicles (FAVs) intention to stop and what influences pedestrians’ decision to cross the road over time, i.e., learnability. Twenty participants saw fixed simulated urban road crossing scenes with a single FAV on the road as if they were pedestrians intending to cross. Scenes differ...

This study explored pedestrians' understanding of Fully Autonomous Vehicles (FAVs) intention to stop and what influences pedestrians' decision to cross the road over time, i.e., learnability. Twenty participants saw fixed simulated urban road crossing scenes with a single FAV on the road as if they were pedestrians intending to cross. Scenes differ...

This study explored pedestrians’ understanding of Fully Autonomous Vehicle (FAV) intention and what influences their decision to cross. Twenty participants saw fixed simulated urban road crossing scenes with a FAV present on the road. The scenes differed from one another in the FAV’s messages: the external Human-Machine Interfaces (e-HMI) backgroun...

As unmanned systems become more intelligent, ground force may be able to interact directly with the UAS, without the need for a human UAS operator as a moderator. We looked at how interaction tools facilitate coordination between commanders and intelligent autonomous UASs. For this a mission execution interface (MEI) was developed. It was added to...

Mobile robotic telepresence (MRP) systems feature a video conferencing interface on a mobile robot, enabling pilot users to remotely control the robot while communicating with a local user. For older adults in an assisted living facility, the operators are mostly caregivers or remote family members. This small-sample usability testing aimed to eval...

Objective To implement auditory continual feedback into the interface design of a Level 3 automated vehicle and to test whether gaze behavior and reaction times of drivers improved in take-over situations. Background When required to assume manual control in take-over situations, drivers of Level 3 automated vehicles are less likely than conventio...

The objective of this task was to develop a module for Assessment of Highway Users' Behaviour under Stress that will provide input to the Mobility Continuity module and the control centre. The goal is to develop a theoretical module that incorporates psychological and behavioural dimensions of safety and risk. These dimensions impact the operationa...

21 Objective Evaluating the ability of a Gibsonian artificial-intelligence algorithm to 22 reduce the cognitive workload of military Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) operators. 23 Background Military UAV operators work in highly dynamic environments. The 24 command and control (C2) map is aimed to assist them with developing situation 25 awareness (SA...

Operators of Military Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) must maintain high levels of Situation Awareness (SA) to perform their missions. They use Command and Control (C2) maps for orientation, route planning, and hazard awareness. Yet, the C2 maps are cluttered with irrelevant information. An AI-based algorithm was developed to filter the map based on...

The present study aimed at exploring the factors that induce discomfort when riding automated vehicles in various driving events. Using a Wizard-of-Oz design, participants were driven in what appeared to be a fully automated (level 5) vehicle. An analysis of participants’ reactions and verbal utterances revealed six specific sources of discomfort (...

Vibro-tactile interfaces were proposed as an alternative to enhance human-machine communication in information-rich domains. The current study aims to examine the effectiveness of two levels of tactile alerts when combined with visual alerts, in MUM-T (Manned UnManned Teaming) setup. In MUM-T, aside from their primary mission, mounted operators are...

In this paper, we introduce a novel perspective for research concerning autonomous vehicles, by applying a psychoanalytic approach that focuses on capturing passengers’ emotional experience. By applying psychoanalytic thinking that aims at the sub-conscious parts of the experience, those that are often unobservable using common methodologies of stu...

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) operators must maintain high levels of situation awareness on their area of operation. To achieve this, they use the a Command and Control (C2) map, which is shared among forces, and regularly overloaded with data that is irrelevant to their operational mission. Operators require distilled information at the right timi...

Real-time continuous workload assessment is important for researchers and developers of tools that aim to reduce human operators' cognitive workload, especially in dynamic environments, as the military environment, where task demands and workload change rapidly. Most workload measurement techniques provide a single retrospective value, or require e...

Feedback design is an important aspect in person-following robots for older adults. This paper presents a user-centered design approach to ensure the design is focused on users’ needs and preferences. A sequence of user studies with a total of 35 older adults (aged 62 years and older) was conducted to explore their preferences regarding feedback pa...

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) operators must maintain high levels of situation awareness on their area of operation. To achieve this, they use the Command and control (C2) map, which are shared among forces, and is regularly overloaded with data that is irrelevant to their mission. UAV operators' missions require distilled information at the right...

Previous studies suggested that communication modalities used for human control and robot feedback influence human-robot interactions. However, they generally tended to focus on one part of the communication, ignoring the relationship between control and feedback modalities. We aim to understand whether the relationship between a user’s control mod...

ABSTRACT Understanding the shortcomings of child-pedestrians in evaluating traffic situations may contribute to producing intervention techniques which may increase their awareness to potential hazards as well as inform and inspire designers of autonomous vehicle and infrastructure systems to deal with the complications of crossing pedestrians. The...

Introduction: Little is known about how characteristics of the environment affect pedestrians' road crossing behavior. Method: In this work, the effect of typical urban visual clutter created by objects and elements in the road proximity (e.g., billboards) on adults and children (aged 9-13) road crossing behavior was examined in a controlled lab...

This study provides user-studies aimed at exploring factors influencing the interaction between older adults and a robotic table setting assistant. The influence of level of automation (LOA) and level of transparency (LOT) on the quality of the interaction was considered. Results revealed that the interaction effect of LOA and LOT significantly inf...

Vibro-tactile interfaces can support users in various aspects and contexts. Despite their inherent advantages, it is important to realize that they are limited in the type and capacity of information they can convey. This study is part of a series of experiments that aim to develop and evaluate a “tactile taxonomy” for dismounted operational enviro...

The intensive care unit (ICU) is one of the most complex areas in hospital care, as patients require continuous monitoring by physicians and nurses. Currently, clinicians are informed about the patients’ physiological conditions through visual color-coded signals and auditory alarms. Previous studies have shown that vibrotactile cues can be used to...

Previous studies suggested that communication modalities used for human control and robot feedback influence human-robot interactions. However, they generally tended to focus on one part of the communication, ignoring the relationship between control and feedback modalities. We aim to understand whether the relationship between a user's control mod...

Operators of military unmanned aerial systems (UASs) work in highly dynamic environments. Their main focus is on mission management via the UAS's payload, yet, they continuously interact with the command and control (C2) map to obtain situation awareness and decision-making. Since C2 maps are cluttered and overloaded with information, we aim to dev...

One of the most significant safety concerns regarding Highly-Automated Driving (HAD) is drivers’ ability to regain control of the vehicle safely. Vibro-tactile alerts were already suggested as an effective modality for Take-Over Requests (TOR) in terms of reducing reaction times. However, it is not clear yet whether such alerts should be compatible...

In Armored Fighting Vehicles (AFVs) the vehicle commander (VC) and crew communicate through an audio system that all crew members inside the armored fighting vehicle (AFV) can hear. This can be distracting and inconvenient, especially for effective communication between the VC and the driver. We assessed the feasibility and usability of a tactile s...

Operators of military unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) work in highly dynamic environments. They have to complete numerous tasks, sometimes simultaneously, while maintaining high situational awareness (SA) and making rapid decisions. Their main focus is on mission management via the UAV's payload, yet, they continuously interact with the command and...

To improve the design of a person-following robot, this preliminary study evaluates the influence of user tasks on human preferences of the robot's following angle and human perceptions of the robot's behavior. 32 participants were followed by a robot at three different following angles twice, once with an auditory task and once with a visual task,...

The critical role of human factors in designing the interaction of autonomous vehicles with pedestrians. Human factors engineering principals are now being investigated and implemented widely in autonomous vehicles, mainly regarding the need of human drivers to resume control (take over requests), or, as the level of autonomy increases, with regard...

Most of the operational tasks that commanders do rely heavily on the visual modality. At the same time, use of advanced visual devices has become common. This, together with the need to execute tasks rapidly, may cause overload and decrease commanders' performance. One promising alternative is utilization of the tactile modality via wearables. In t...

Command and control (C2) maps in military unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are often cluttered beyond the needs of operators. Unfortunately, information overload increases the operators’ mental effort and mission performance suffers. To make C2 maps more useful and improve operator performance, this study proposes a triangular approach to highlighti...

This study is a preparatory stage of a larger study intended to increase the understanding between a dining table robot assistant and the user. The users are expected to be older adults who need assistance in their daily lives but the study begins with investigating the level of understanding with younger adults with the intention of comparing the...

Person-following is an important aspect in many service robotic applications whilst supporting a person in performing daily tasks. Few studies have actively worked towards making person-following behavior usable, pleasurable or personal. As such, user studies are essential for promoting the interaction design, and increase user satisfaction and acc...

Person-following is an important aspect in many service robotic applications whilst supporting a person in performing daily tasks. Few studies have actively worked towards making person-following behavior usable, pleasurable or personal. As such, user studies are essential for promoting the interaction design, and increase user satisfaction and acc...

A detailed understanding of operator individual differences can serve as a foundation for developing a critical window on effective, adaptable, user-centered automation, and even for more autonomous systems. Adaptable automation that functions according to such principles and parameters has many potential benefits in increasing operator trust and a...