A multi-touch interface for multi-robot path planning and control

In the last few years, research in human-robot interaction has moved beyond the issues concerning the design of the interaction between a person and a single robot. Today many researchers have shifted their focus toward the problem of how humans can control a multi-robot team. The rising of multi-touch devices provides a new range of opportunities in this sense. Our research seeks to discover new insights and guidelines for the design of multi-touch interfaces for the control of biologically inspired multi-robot teams. We have developed an iPad touch interface that lets users exert partial control over a set of autonomous robots. The interface also serves as an experimental platform to study how human operators design multi-robot motion in a pursuit-evasion setting.