Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Outputs (32)

Lessons learned: Symbiotic autonomous robot ecosystem for nuclear environments (2023)
Journal Article
Mitchell, D., Emor Baniqued, P. D., Zahid, A., West, A., Nouri Rahmat Abadi, B., Lennox, B., …Jiang, Z. (2023). Lessons learned: Symbiotic autonomous robot ecosystem for nuclear environments. IET Cyber-Systems and Robotics, 5(4), Article e12103. https://doi.org/10.1049/csy2.12103

AbstractNuclear facilities have a regulatory requirement to measure radiation levels within Post Operational Clean Out (POCO) around nuclear facilities each year, resulting in a trend towards robotic deployments to gain an improved understanding duri... Read More about Lessons learned: Symbiotic autonomous robot ecosystem for nuclear environments.

Hear here: Sonification as a design strategy for robot teleoperation using virtual reality (2023)
Conference Proceeding
Simmons, J., Bown, A., Bremner, P., McIntosh, V., & Mitchell, T. J. (2023). Hear here: Sonification as a design strategy for robot teleoperation using virtual reality.

This paper introduces a novel methodology for the sonification of data, and shares the results of a usability study, putting the method- ology into practice within an industrial use case. Working with partners at Sellafield nuclear facility, we explo... Read More about Hear here: Sonification as a design strategy for robot teleoperation using virtual reality.

Impact of resolution, colour, and motion on object identification in digital twins from robot sensor data (2022)
Journal Article
Bremner, P., & Giuliani, M. (2022). Impact of resolution, colour, and motion on object identification in digital twins from robot sensor data. Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 9, Article 995342. https://doi.org/10.3389/frobt.2022.995342

This paper makes a contribution to research on digital twins that are generated from robot sensor data. We present the results of an online user study in which 240 participants were tasked to identify real-world objects from robot point cloud data. I... Read More about Impact of resolution, colour, and motion on object identification in digital twins from robot sensor data.

User requirements for a robot teleoperation system for general medical examination (2022)
Conference Proceeding
Chirapornchai, C., Niyi-Odumosu, F., Giuliani, M., & Bremner, P. (2022). User requirements for a robot teleoperation system for general medical examination. In 2022 31st IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN) (858-863). https://doi.org/10.1109/RO-MAN53752.2022.9900855

Thailand, as well as many other countries world-wide, is facing a shortage of medical staff. We purpose a solution to improve medical services in health centres: a robot teleoperation system to allow patients to consult with doctors from public hospi... Read More about User requirements for a robot teleoperation system for general medical examination.

Usability of an immersive control system for a humanoid robot surrogate (2022)
Conference Proceeding
MacKey, B., Bremner, P., & Giuliani, M. (2022). Usability of an immersive control system for a humanoid robot surrogate. In 2022 31st IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN) (678-685). https://doi.org/10.1109/RO-MAN53752.2022.9900587

Social isolation is an issue that effects many people, especially those from ethic minorities, LGBTQIA+ communities, the elderly, those in long-term healthcare, and those living with life-limiting illnesses. It has become increasingly evident during... Read More about Usability of an immersive control system for a humanoid robot surrogate.

The impact of data sonification in virtual reality robot teleoperation (2022)
Journal Article
Bremner, P., Mitchell, T. J., & McIntosh, V. (2022). The impact of data sonification in virtual reality robot teleoperation. Frontiers in Virtual Reality, 3, 904720. https://doi.org/10.3389/frvir.2022.904720

Virtual Reality (VR) is being increasingly used to provide a more intuitive and embodied approach to robotic teleoperation, giving operators a sense of presence in the remote environment. Prior research has shown that presence can be enhanced when ad... Read More about The impact of data sonification in virtual reality robot teleoperation.

Assessing and addressing ethical risk from anthropomorphism and deception in socially assistive robots (2021)
Conference Proceeding
Winkle, K., Caleb-Solly, P., Leonards, U., Turton, A., & Bremner, P. (2021). Assessing and addressing ethical risk from anthropomorphism and deception in socially assistive robots. https://doi.org/10.1145/3434073.3444666

In this paper we apply the recent concept of robot Ethical Risk Assessment to an exemplar Socially Assistive Robot (SAR); specifically considering ethical risks posed by anthropomorphism in this context. We draw on two complimentary studies to demons... Read More about Assessing and addressing ethical risk from anthropomorphism and deception in socially assistive robots.

The effect of virtual reality control of a robotic surrogate on presence and social presence in comparison to telecommunications software (2020)
Conference Proceeding
Mackey, B. A., Bremner, P. A., & Giuliani, M. (2020). The effect of virtual reality control of a robotic surrogate on presence and social presence in comparison to telecommunications software. In Companion of the 2020 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI '20 Companion) (349-351). https://doi.org/10.1145/3371382.3378268

Telecommunication software is often used to tackle social isolation in those with restricted mobility, but lacks high-level interactions found in face-to-face conversation. This study investigated the use of an immersive control system for a robotic... Read More about The effect of virtual reality control of a robotic surrogate on presence and social presence in comparison to telecommunications software.

Immersive control of a robot surrogate for users in palliative care (2020)
Conference Proceeding
Mackey, B. A., Bremner, P. A., & Giuliani, M. (2020). Immersive control of a robot surrogate for users in palliative care. In Companion of the 2020 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI '20 Companion) (585-587). https://doi.org/10.1145/3371382.3377445

Quality of life (QoL) is especially important for palliative care patients, who can be at risk of mental health issues. This project aims to design and implement an immersive control system for a robotic surrogate, that allows users to interact as na... Read More about Immersive control of a robot surrogate for users in palliative care.

Audio-driven robot upper-body motion synthesis (2020)
Journal Article
Ondras, J., Celiktutan, O., Bremner, P., & Gunes, H. (2021). Audio-driven robot upper-body motion synthesis. IEEE Transactions on Cybernetics, 51(11), 5445-5454. https://doi.org/10.1109/tcyb.2020.2966730

Body language is an important aspect of human communication, which an effective human-robot interaction interface should mimic well. Human beings exchange information and convey their thoughts and feelings through gaze, facial expressions, body langu... Read More about Audio-driven robot upper-body motion synthesis.

In-situ learning from a domain expert for real world socially assistive robot deployment (2020)
Conference Proceeding
Winkle, K., Lemaignan, S., Caleb-Solly, P., Bremner, P., Turton, A., & Leonards, U. (2020). In-situ learning from a domain expert for real world socially assistive robot deployment. . https://doi.org/10.15607/RSS.2020.XVI.059

The effectiveness of Socially Assistive Robots (SAR) relies on their ability to motivate particular user behaviours, e.g. engagement with a task, requiring complex social interactions tailored to the needs and motivations of the user. Professionals f... Read More about In-situ learning from a domain expert for real world socially assistive robot deployment.

Effective persuasion strategies for socially assistive robots (2019)
Conference Proceeding
Winkle, K., Lemaignan, S., Caleb-Solly, P., Turton, A., Leonards, U., & Bremner, P. (2019). Effective persuasion strategies for socially assistive robots. In Proceedings of the 2019 ACM/IEEE Human-Robot Interaction Conference (277-285). https://doi.org/10.1109/HRI.2019.8673313

In this paper we present the results of an experimental study investigating the application of human persuasive strategies to a social robot. We demonstrate that robot displays of goodwill and similarity to the participant significantly increased rob... Read More about Effective persuasion strategies for socially assistive robots.

Mutual shaping in the design of socially assistive robots: A case study on social robots for therapy (2019)
Journal Article
Winkle, K., Caleb-Solly, P., Turton, A., & Bremner, P. (2020). Mutual shaping in the design of socially assistive robots: A case study on social robots for therapy. International Journal of Social Robotics, 12, 847-866. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-019-00536-9

This paper offers a case study in undertaking a mutual shaping approach to the design of socially assistive robots. We consider the use of social robots in therapy, and we present our results regarding this application, but the approach is generalisa... Read More about Mutual shaping in the design of socially assistive robots: A case study on social robots for therapy.

On proactive, transparent and verifiable ethical reasoning for robots (2019)
Journal Article
Bremner, P., Dennis, L. A., Fisher, M., & Winfield, A. F. (2019). On proactive, transparent and verifiable ethical reasoning for robots. Proceedings of the IEEE, 107(3), 541-561. https://doi.org/10.1109/JPROC.2019.2898267

Previous work on ethical machine reasoning has largely been theoretical, and where such systems have been implemented it has in general been only initial proofs of principle. Here we address the question of desirable attributes for such systems to im... Read More about On proactive, transparent and verifiable ethical reasoning for robots.

Social robots for engagement in rehabilitative therapies: Design implications from a study with therapists (2018)
Presentation / Conference
Design implications from a study with therapists. Paper presented at 2018 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, Chicago, IL, USA

In this paper we present the results of a qualitative study with therapists to inform social robotics and human robot interaction (HRI) for engagement in rehabilitative therapies. Our results add to growing evidence that socially assistive robots (SA... Read More about Social robots for engagement in rehabilitative therapies: Design implications from a study with therapists.

Personality perception of robot avatar teleoperators in solo and dyadic tasks (2017)
Journal Article
Bremner, P., Celiktutan, O., & Gunes, H. (2017). Personality perception of robot avatar teleoperators in solo and dyadic tasks. Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 4(MAY), https://doi.org/10.3389/frobt.2017.00016

© 2017 Bremner, Celiktutan and Gunes. Humanoid robot avatars are a potential new telecommunication tool, whereby a user is remotely represented by a robot that replicates their arm, head, and possible face movements. They have been shown to have a nu... Read More about Personality perception of robot avatar teleoperators in solo and dyadic tasks.

Humanoid robot avatars: An 'in the wild' usability study (2016)
Conference Proceeding
Bremner, P., Koschate, M., & Levine, M. (2016). Humanoid robot avatars: An 'in the wild' usability study. In 2016 25th IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN) (624-629). https://doi.org/10.1109/ROMAN.2016.7745183

In this paper, we report a breaching study to explore the use of a tele-operated humanoid avatar from both the perspective of the robot operator and the perspective of interlocutors. Humanoid robot avatars provide capabilities that video conferencing... Read More about Humanoid robot avatars: An 'in the wild' usability study.

Personality perception of robot avatar tele-operators (2016)
Book Chapter
Bremner, P., Celiktutan, O., & Gunes, H. (2016). Personality perception of robot avatar tele-operators. In C. Bartneck, Y. Nagai, A. Paiva, & S. Sabanovic (Eds.), Proceedings of the eleventh ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human Robot Interaction (141-148). New Jersey: IEEE Press

Nowadays a significant part of human-human interaction takes place over distance. Tele-operated robot avatars, in which an operator’s behaviours are portrayed by a robot proxy, have the potential to improve distance interaction, e.g., improving soc... Read More about Personality perception of robot avatar tele-operators.

Overcoming the uncanny valley: Displays of emotions reduce the uncanniness of humanlike robots (2016)
Book Chapter
Koschate, M., Potter, R., Bremner, P., & Levine, M. (2016). Overcoming the uncanny valley: Displays of emotions reduce the uncanniness of humanlike robots. In Proceedings of the eleventh ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human Robot Interaction (359-365). New Jersey: IEEE Press

In this paper we show empirically that highly humanlike robots make thoughts of death more accessible, leading to perceptions of uncanniness and eeriness of such robots. Rather than reducing the humanlikeness of robots, our research suggests the addi... Read More about Overcoming the uncanny valley: Displays of emotions reduce the uncanniness of humanlike robots.

Iconic gestures for robot avatars, recognition and integration with speech (2016)
Journal Article
Bremner, P., & Leonards, U. (2016). Iconic gestures for robot avatars, recognition and integration with speech. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00183

© 2016 Bremner and Leonards. Co-verbal gestures are an important part of human communication, improving its efficiency and efficacy for information conveyance. One possible means by which such multi-modal communication might be realized remotely is t... Read More about Iconic gestures for robot avatars, recognition and integration with speech.

Speech and Gesture Emphasis Effects for Robotic and Human Communicators: A Direct Comparison (2015)
Conference Proceeding
Bremner, P., & Leonards, U. (2015). Speech and Gesture Emphasis Effects for Robotic and Human Communicators: A Direct Comparison. In Proceedings of the Tenth Annual ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction - HRI '15 (255-262). https://doi.org/10.1145/2696454.2696496

© 2015 ACM. Emphasis, by means of either pitch accents or beat gestures (rhythmic co-verbal gestures with no semantic meaning), has been shown to serve two main purposes in human communication: syntactic disambiguation and salience. To use beat gestu... Read More about Speech and Gesture Emphasis Effects for Robotic and Human Communicators: A Direct Comparison.

Efficiency of speech and iconic gesture integration for robotic and human communicators - A direct comparison (2015)
Journal Article
Bremner, P., & Leonards, U. (2015). Efficiency of speech and iconic gesture integration for robotic and human communicators - A direct comparison. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 2015-June(June), 1999-2006. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICRA.2015.7139460

© 2015 IEEE. Co-verbal gestures are an important part of human communication, improving its efficiency for information conveyance. A key component of such improvement is the observer's ability to integrate information from the two communication chann... Read More about Efficiency of speech and iconic gesture integration for robotic and human communicators - A direct comparison.

Cooperative tabletop working for humans and humanoid robots: Group interaction with an avatar (2013)
Conference Proceeding
Hossen Mamode, H. Z., Bremner, P., Pipe, A. G., & Carse, B. (2013). Cooperative tabletop working for humans and humanoid robots: Group interaction with an avatar. In 2013 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (184-190). https://doi.org/10.1109/ICRA.2013.6630574

This paper represents the first steps in investigating issues emerging from a scenario where a robot interacts with a group of people around an interactive tabletop. In particular, the impact that a humanoid robot, acting as an avatar for a remote me... Read More about Cooperative tabletop working for humans and humanoid robots: Group interaction with an avatar.

SABRE: A bio-inspired fault-tolerant electronic architecture (2013)
Journal Article
Pipe, A. G., Dragffy, G., Samie, M., Liu, Y., Bremner, P., Bremner, P., …Tyrrell, A. M. (2013). SABRE: A bio-inspired fault-tolerant electronic architecture. Bioinspiration and Biomimetics, 8(1), https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-3182/8/1/016003

As electronic devices become increasingly complex, ensuring their reliable, fault-free operation is becoming correspondingly more challenging. It can be observed that, in spite of their complexity, biological systems are highly reliable and fault tol... Read More about SABRE: A bio-inspired fault-tolerant electronic architecture.

Novel bio-inspired approach for fault-tolerant VLSI systems (2012)
Journal Article
Samie, M., Dragffy, G., Tyrrell, A. M., Pipe, T., & Bremner, P. (2013). Novel bio-inspired approach for fault-tolerant VLSI systems. IEEE Transactions on Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) Systems, 21(10), 1878-1891. https://doi.org/10.1109/TVLSI.2012.2220793

Living organisms are complex systems, and yet they possess extremely high degrees of reliability. Since failures are local, their repair will often be taken on the local (cell) level. Engineers have long sought systems that could offer similar reliab... Read More about Novel bio-inspired approach for fault-tolerant VLSI systems.

The effects of robot performed co-verbal gestures on listener behaviour (2011)
Presentation / Conference
Bremner, P., Pipe, A. G., Melhuish, C., Fraser, M., & Subramanian, S. (2011, October). The effects of robot performed co-verbal gestures on listener behaviour. Paper presented at 11th IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots, Bled, Slovenia

Multi-objective optimisation of cell-array circuit evolution (2011)
Conference Proceeding
Bremner, P., Samie, M., Pipe, A. G., & Tyrrell, A. (2011). Multi-objective optimisation of cell-array circuit evolution. In 2011 IEEE Congress of Evolutionary Computation (CEC) (440-446). https://doi.org/10.1109/CEC.2011.5949651

In this paper we have investigated the efficacy of applying multi-objective optimisation to Cartesian genetic programming (CGP) when used for evolution of cell-array configurations. A cell-array is a proposed type of custom FPGA, where digital circui... Read More about Multi-objective optimisation of cell-array circuit evolution.

Evolving cell array configurations using CGP (2011)
Journal Article
Bremner, P., Samie, M., Dragffy, G., Pipe, A. G., & Liu, Y. (2011). Evolving cell array configurations using CGP. Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence, 6621 LNCS, 73-84. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-20407-4_7

A cell array is a proposed type of custom FPGA, where digital circuits can be formed from interconnected configurable cells. In this paper we have presented a means by which CGP might be adapted to evolve configurations of a proposed cell array. As p... Read More about Evolving cell array configurations using CGP.

Conversational gestures in human-robot interaction (2009)
Conference Proceeding
Bremner, P., Pipe, A., Melhuish, C., Fraser, M., & Subramanian, S. (2009). Conversational gestures in human-robot interaction. In 2009 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics (1645-1649). https://doi.org/10.1109/ICSMC.2009.5346903

The human sciences have demonstrated that gesture is a critical element of human communication. While existing graphical solutions are appropriate for virtual agents, solving arm trajectories for physically embodied robots requires that we consider t... Read More about Conversational gestures in human-robot interaction.

Beat gesture generation rules for human-robot interaction (2009)
Conference Proceeding
Bremner, P., Pipe, A. G., Fraser, M., Subramanian, S., & Melhuish, C. (2009). Beat gesture generation rules for human-robot interaction. In Proceedings - IEEE International Workshop on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (1029-1034). https://doi.org/10.1109/ROMAN.2009.5326136

In order for anthropomorphic robots to communicate with people in a human-like way they need to produce gestures along with speech. Beat gestures are a key category of gestures, accompanying emphasis and timing of talk. The standard approach for auto... Read More about Beat gesture generation rules for human-robot interaction.