Xiaohua Sun

Yate Ge, Yi Dai, Run Shan et al.

End-user development allows everyday users to tailor service robots or applications to their needs. One user-friendly approach is natural language programming. However, it encounters challenges such as an expansive user expression space and limited support for debugging and editing, which restrict its application in end-user programming. The emergence of large language models (LLMs) offers promising avenues for the translation and interpretation between human language instructions and the code executed by robots, but their application in end-user programming systems requires further study. We introduce Cocobo, a natural language programming system with interactive diagrams powered by LLMs. Cocobo employs LLMs to understand users' authoring intentions, generate and explain robot programs, and facilitate the conversion between executable code and flowchart representations. Our user study shows that Cocobo has a low learning curve, enabling even users with zero coding experience to customize robot programs successfully.

Yate Ge, Meiying Li, Xipeng Huang et al.

This work investigates the integration of generative visual aids in human-robot task communication. We developed GenComUI, a system powered by large language models that dynamically generates contextual visual aids (such as map annotations, path indicators, and animations) to support verbal task communication and facilitate the generation of customized task programs for the robot. This system was informed by a formative study that examined how humans use external visual tools to assist verbal communication in spatial tasks. To evaluate its effectiveness, we conducted a user experiment (n = 20) comparing GenComUI with a voice-only baseline. The results demonstrate that generative visual aids, through both qualitative and quantitative analysis, enhance verbal task communication by providing continuous visual feedback, thus promoting natural and effective human-robot communication. Additionally, the study offers a set of design implications, emphasizing how dynamically generated visual aids can serve as an effective communication medium in human-robot interaction. These findings underscore the potential of generative visual aids to inform the design of more intuitive and effective human-robot communication, particularly for complex communication scenarios in human-robot interaction and LLM-based end-user development.

Shengchen Zhang, Zixuan Wang, Chaoran Chen et al.

Service robots are envisioned to be adaptive to their working environment based on situational knowledge. Recent research focused on designing visual representation of knowledge graphs for expert users. However, how to generate an understandable interface for non-expert users remains to be explored. In this paper, we use knowledge graphs (KGs) as a common ground for knowledge exchange and develop a pattern library for designing KG interfaces for non-expert users. After identifying the types of robotic situational knowledge from the literature, we present a formative study in which participants used cards to communicate the knowledge for given scenarios. We iteratively coded the results and identified patterns for representing various types of situational knowledge. To derive design recommendations for applying the patterns, we prototyped a lab service robot and conducted Wizard-of-Oz testing. The patterns and recommendations could provide useful guidance in designing knowledge-exchange interfaces for robots.