Human-robot interactions in active sensor networks

This paper considers the modes of interaction between one or several human operators and an active sensor network – a fully decentralized network of sensors some or all of which have actuators and are in that sense active. The primary goal of this study is to investigate the conditions under which the human involvement will not jeopardize scalability of the overall system. Two aspects of human-robot interaction are considered: the ways in which the global view of the system may be conveyed to the operators, and how the operators may influence the behavior of the system during the course of its operation. The results of analysis favor peer-topeer information-based interactions between the operators and the network whereby the humans act as extended sensors and communication nodes of the network itself. Experiments on an indoor active sensor network are described.