Yael Edan

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev | bgu · Department of Industrial Engineering and Management

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...

By supporting autonomy, aging in place, and wellbeing in later life, Socially Assistive Robots are expected to help humanity face the challenges posed by the rapid aging of the world’s population. For the successful acceptance and assimilation of SARs by older adults, it is necessary to understand the factors affecting their Quality Evaluations Pre...

Introduction of robotics into agriculture has the potential to lower production costs, reduce the drudgery of tedious manual labor, increase the level of accuracy of mechanized operations, and improve environmental control. Unlike industrial applications that often deal with relatively simple, repetitive, well-defined, and known a priori tasks, agr...

This chapter reviews advances in the use of robotics in crop phenotyping. It first highlights the role of robotics in phenotyping, then moves on to discuss three forms of dimensional imaging and analysis: two dimensional (2D), 3D and 4D. A section is dedicated to each. The chapter also provides two case studies, the first focuses on models to detec...

Leaks and clogs in drip-irrigated orchards lead to variable yields, reduced efficiency and profitability. Frequent monitoring of irrigation systems by farmers is important but costly, labor-intensive, and not easily implementable on a regular basis. Moreover, in subsur-face drip-irrigation systems, it is difficult to visually detect malfunctions. T...

Leaks and clogs in drip-irrigated orchards lead to variable yields, reduced efficiency and profitability. Frequent monitoring of irrigation systems by farmers is important but costly, labor-intensive, and not easily implementable on a regular basis. Moreover, in subsur- face drip-irrigation systems, it is difficult to visually detect malfunctions....

With an increasing interest in human-robot collaboration, there is a need to develop robot behavior while keeping the human user's preferences in mind. Highly skilled human users doing delicate tasks require their robot partners to behave according to their work habits and task constraints. To achieve this, we present the use of the Optometrist's A...

Background Skeleton tracking is a valuable tool for monitoring user performance and has been performed with different sensors and software tools. It enables to quantify 3D motion accurately. We present a comparative analysis of cameras and software tools utilized in skeleton tracking. We describe an experimental design and analysis methods with fou...

To meet the increasing demand for aquacultural products, it is necessary to increase cultured fish production and to ensure that the fish species grow with maximum efficiency. A significant component of aquacultural production is the counting process, a task that is time and labor intensive. To address this problem for the crustacean species Macrob...

The number of objects is considered an important factor in a variety of tasks in the agricultural domain. Automated counting can improve farmers’ decisions regarding yield estimation, stress detection, disease prevention, and more. In recent years, deep learning has been increasingly applied to many agriculture-related applications, complementing c...

Introduction of automation into agriculture has lowered production costs, reduced the drudgery of tedious manual labor, increased the level of accuracy of mechanized operations, raised the level of quality of fresh produce, and improved environmental control. Unlike industrial applications that often deal with relatively simple, repetitive, well-de...

The number of objects is considered an important factor in a variety of tasks in the agricultural domain. Automated counting can improve farmers decisions regarding yield estimation, stress detection, disease prevention, and more. In recent years, deep learning has been increasingly applied to many agriculture-related applications, complementing co...

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...

Despite intensive R&D on agricultural robotics in the past decade, implementation of agricultural robotics remains limited due to the complex unstructured agricultural environment that confines performance. A possible way to increase performance is by human-robot collaboration (HRC) approaches for agricultural tasks and applications. The first cont...

Socially Assistive Robots (SARs) are expected to support autonomy, aging in place, and wellbeing in later life. Acceptance and successful assimilation of SARs among older adults depend ontheir Quality Evaluations (QEs), namely, the pragmatic and hedonic evaluations and overall attractiveness. Previous studies showed that trust in robots significant...

This study demonstrates how anticipated and actual interactions shape the QE of SARs among older adults. The study consisted of two parts: an online survey to explore the anticipated interaction through video viewing of a SAR and an acceptance study where older adults interacted with the robot. Both parts of this study were completed with the assis...

Physical activity is important for health and wellbeing, but only few fulfill the World Health Organization's criteria for physical activity. The development of a robotic exercise trainer can assist in increasing training accessibility and motivation. The acceptance and trust of users are crucial for the successful implementation of such an assisti...

Feed remains a major cost in livestock farming. Accurate measurement of feed intake by individual animals offers the possibility of significant savings and more efficient production. The use of advanced low-cost cameras and innovative computer vision algorithms is changing feed-intake monitoring system design. With the help of these technologies, i...

Agricultural industry is facing a serious threat from plant diseases that cause production and economic losses. Early information on disease development can improve disease control using suitable management strategies. This study sought to detect downy mildew (Peronospora) on grapevine (Vitis vinifera) leaves at early stages of development using th...

p>This paper presents a rule-based methodology for dynamic viewpoint selection for maturity classification of red and yellow sweet peppers. The method makes an online decision to capture an additional next-best viewpoint based on an economic analysis that considers potential misclassification and robot operational costs. The next-best viewpoint is...

This paper describes a sheep biometric identification system based on facial images. A machine vision system and deep learning model were developed and applied for animal identification. The system included two 8-MegaPixels cameras installed in a controlled water trough adapted to work with NVIDIA Jetson Nano-embedded system-on-module (SoM). Data f...

This paper addresses the formulation of an individual fruit harvest decision as a nonlinear programming problem to maximize profit, while considering selective harvesting based on fruit maturity. A model for the operational level decision was developed and includes four features: time window constraints, resource limitations, yield perishability, a...

Biometric identification provides an important tool for precision livestock farming. This study investigates the effect of weight gain and sheep maturation on recognition performance. Sheep facial identification was implemented using two convolutional neural network (CNN) called Faster R-CNN, and ResNet50V2, equipped with the state-of-art Additive...

Data on individual feed intake of dairy cows, an important variable for farm management, are currently unavailable in commercial dairies. A real-time machine vision system including models that are able to adapt to multiple types of feed was developed to predict individual feed intake of dairy cows. Using a Red-Green-Blue-Depth (RGBD) camera, image...

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...

Different feedback modalities while using a mobile robot in a telecare task were compared. An experimental setup in which caregivers teleoperated a robot to perform several tasks remotely, outside the immediate environment of a patient, while they simultaneously managed other secondary tasks was designed. The robot provided feedback related to stat...

We studied politeness in human-robot interaction based on Lakoff’s politeness theory. In a series of eight studies, we manipulated three different levels of politeness of non-humanoid robots and evaluated their effects. A table-setting task was developed for two different types of robots (a robotic manipulator and a mobile robot). The studies inclu...

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...

This study explored how levels of automation (LOA) influence human robot collaboration when operating at different levels of workload. Two LOA modes were designed, implemented, and evaluated in an experimental collaborative assembly task setup for four levels of workload composed of a secondary task and task complexity. A user study conducted invol...

Physical exercise has many physical, psychological and social health benefits leading to improved life quality. This paper presents a robotic system developed as a personal coach for older adults aiming to motivate older adults to participate in physical activities. The robot instructs the participants, demonstrates the exercises and provides real-...

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...

Frequent monitoring of the irrigation system is an important task for efficient farm management. However, since it is costly and labor-intensive it is not implemented on a regular basis. Irrigation malfunctions are usually associated with improper maintenance or operation of the irrigation system and appear as leaks and clogs in irrigation lines. T...

Physical and cognitive training can maintain and improve older adults' independence and quality of life. Given the demographic growth of the older adult population and the shortage of caregivers, there is a need for personal trainers for physical and cognitive activities. This study suggests that social robots can satisfy this demand and presents t...

Technology domestication in old age may promote autonomy and support aging in place, but most previous research did not follow the process of domestication over time and in real life conditions. To gain deeper understanding of technology domestication in later life, we simultaneously explored uses, outcomes and constraints in real life conditions i...

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...

Aiming to explore the impact of politeness on Human robot interaction, this study tested varying levels of politeness in a human robot collaborative table setting task. Polite behaviour was designed based on the politeness rules of Lakoff. A graphical user interface was developed for the interaction with the robot offering three levels of politenes...

The interaction of Older adults with robots requires effective feedback to keep them aware of the state of the interaction for optimum interaction quality. This study examines the effect of different feedback modalities in a table setting robot assistant for elder care. Two different feedback modalities (visual and auditory) and their combination w...

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...

Generation of yield maps enables making agronomic decisions related to resource management and marketing, leading to improved production and breeding processes. Estimating melon yield production before harvest at single-melon resolution is a labor-intensive task, requiring a detailed account of accumulated yield and general yield distribution, as w...

Detecting objects in agricultural environments is a fundamental capability needed for automating agricultural tasks. This paper presents the adaption stages of a state-of-the-art deep learning object detection algorithm for a tomato flower detection system in a greenhouse environment. Algorithmic changes and hyper-parameters adjustments in order to...

The effect of camera viewpoint and fruit orientation on the performance of a sweet pepper maturity level classification algorithm was evaluated. Image datasets of sweet peppers harvested from a commercial greenhouse were collected using two different methods, resulting in 789 RGB—Red Green Blue (images acquired in a photocell) and 417 RGB-D—Red Gre...

This paper presents maturity classification algorithms developed for small datasets and methods to deal with the highly variable and continuously changing agricultural environment. The algorithms were applied to the maturity classification of red and yellow sweet peppers, with data acquired from two different datasets, including 296 images. The mat...

A methodology for planning the sequence of tasks for a harvesting robot is presented. The fruit targets are situated at unknown locations and must be detected by the robot through a sequence of sensing tasks. Once the targets are detected, the robot must execute a harvest action at each target location. The traveling salesman paradigm (TSP) is used...

This study entailed the design and implementation of a computer vision system for cow individual feed intake measurement, based on deep Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) models, and a low-cost RGB-D (Red, Green, Blue, Depth) camera. Individual feed intake of dairy cows is an important variable currently unavailable in commercial dairies. An RGB-...

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...

Current harvesting robots have limited performance, due to the unstructured and dynamic nature of both the target crops and their environment. Efforts to date focus on improving sensing and robotic systems. This paper presents a parallel approach, to ‘design’ the crop and its environment to best fit the robot, similar to robotic integration in indu...

Current practice for vine yield estimation is based on RGB cameras and has limited performance. In this paper we present a method for outdoor vine yield estimation using a consumer grade RGB-D camera mounted on a mobile robotic platform. An algorithm for automatic grape cluster size estimation using depth information is evaluated both in controlled...

This paper presents the development, testing and validation of SWEEPER, a robot for harvesting sweet pepper fruit in greenhouses. The robotic system includes a six degrees of freedom industrial arm equipped with a specially designed end effector, RGB‐D camera, high‐end computer with graphics processing unit, programmable logic controllers, other el...

This chapter presents the analysis methods and the performance measures applied in this book. The described methods are evaluated by the use of extended examples in Chaps. 6 and 8. The evaluations include task attendance analyses that are conducted for both a single-layer and a dual-layer system to examine the effect and the performance of the desc...

This chapter describes three examples of multi-agent systems: a multi-sensory security system for supply networks, a multi-agent approach to solve the travelling salesman problem and multiple police officers allocated to crime incidents in law enforcement problem. These examples are evaluated by task allocation algorithms to demonstrate the methods...

This chapter describes and analyzes the ‘Availability module’ of the task allocation system (Fig. 9.1). This chapter presents the reliability design and availability analysis of the system to further optimize system performance in case of sensor failure and to ensure fault tolerant allocation system performance. Availability optimization of the sen...

This chapter describes an example of a multi-sensory security system for supply networks with disturbances. This example is evaluated by the use of a dual-layer system to illustrate the methods described in Chap. 7.

This chapter describes and analyzes analytically the performance of HDBA in ‘Layer 1’ and the performances of TAPs in ‘Layer 2’ of the task allocation system (Fig. 10.1). An analysis of a simplified system consisting of two sensors and two tasks is presented. This analysis was conducted to reveal the basic operating mechanism of HDBA and to analyze...

This chapter defines the multi–sensor task allocation in a single-layer system. The allocation problem is described and algorithms for multi-agent and multi-sensor task allocation are presented. Figure 5.1 illustrates the Layer 1 architecture of the system.

Multi-agent allocation has become a popular area of research and has advanced significantly in recent years in many applications such as multi-robot task allocation, path planning, control of unmanned aerial vehicles, communication networks, conflict and error prevention, and formation of mobile robots [1, 12, 51, 55, 61]. Multi-agent task allocati...

The task allocation of a distributed heterogeneous multi-sensor system in dynamic and decentralized environments that have multiple tasks, with unknown a priori priorities that arrive at unknown locations at unknown times is a major challenge.

This chapter presents an analysis of algorithms and protocols for sensor allocation in a dual-layer system. The dual-layer system framework is described, task administration protocols are presented, and the system with TAPs and HDBA that is able to handle the scenarios of deception, overloading, and tampering is defined in the current chapter. Figu...

There are plentiful applications of multi-sensor task allocation in practice. The previous chapters of this book specified, formulated, described and illustrated the impacts of optimal multi-sensor task allocation on the quality and performance of supply networks and law enforcement systems. Emerging applications and technologies of the future will...

Today’s real-world problems and applications in sensory systems and target detection require efficient, comprehensive and fault-tolerant multi-sensor allocation. This book presents the theory and applications of novel methods developed for such sophisticated systems. It discusses the advances in multi-agent systems and AI along with collaborative c...

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...

RGB-D cameras play an increasingly important role in localization and autonomous navigation of mobile robots. Reasonably priced commercial RGB-D cameras have recently been developed for operation in greenhouse and outdoor conditions. They can be employed for different agricultural and horticultural operations such as harvesting, weeding, pruning an...

Individual feed intake of dairy cows is an important, currently unavailable, variable in commercial dairies. Earlier systems developed were either costly or unreliable enough for commercial farms. This research developed a low-cost individual feed intake system using RGB-D cameras and deep learning algorithm. Depth and colour images are produced fr...

Robotic harvesters that use visual servoing must choose the best direction from which to approach the fruit to minimize occlusion and avoid obstacles that might interfere with the detection along the approach. This work proposes different approach strategies, compares them in terms of cycle times, and presents a failure analysis methodology of the...

This paper presents an automatic parameter tuning procedure specially developed for a dynamic adaptive thresholding algorithm for fruit detection. One of the major algorithm strengths is its high detection performances using a small set of training images. The algorithm enables robust detection in highly-variable lighting conditions. The image is d...

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,...

Current harvesting robots are limited by low detection rates due to the unstructured and dynamic nature of both the objects and the environment. State-of-the-art algorithms include color- and texture-based detection, which are highly sensitive to the illumination conditions. Deep learning algorithms promise robustness at the cost of significant com...

With the aging of the population worldwide, humanoid robots are being used with an older population, e.g., stroke patients and people with dementia. There is a growing body of knowledge on how people interact with robots, but limited information on the difference between young and old adults in their preferences when interacting with humanoid robot...

Statistical models for fruit detectability were developed to provide insights into preferable variable configurations for better robotic harvesting performance. The methodology includes several steps: definition of controllable and measurable variables, data acquisition protocol design, data processing, definition of performance measures and stati...

Fig. S1: Image detection flow chart. Left – Offline flow chart. Right – Online flow chart. Fig. S2: User interface for offline selection of thresholds.

This thesis focuses on the problem of recognizing objects in agricultural environments through computer vision. This problem has been studied for many decades. However, few commercialized agricultural applications use computer vision. A major hindrance to commercialization is the relatively low levels of accuracy caused by the unstructured, highly...

Multi-sensor systems can play an important role in monitoring tasks and detecting targets. However, real-time allocation of heterogeneous sensors to dynamic targets/tasks that are unknown a priori in their locations and priorities is a challenge. This paper presents a Modified Distributed Bees Algorithm (MDBA) that is developed to allocate stationa...

An autonomous sweet pepper harvesting robot must perform several tasks to successfully harvest a fruit. Due to the highly unstructured environment in which the robot operates and the presence of occlusions, the current challenges are to improve the detection rate and lower the risk of losing sight of the fruit while approaching the fruit for harves...

Spraying pesticides is a key element of agriculture worldwide, since 30% to 35% of crop losses can be prevented when harmful insects and diseases are eliminated by applying pesticides. Site-specific spraying can help reduce pesticide application; however, target detection is limited due to the complex agricultural environment. This paper presents a...

This article presents the design aspects and development processes to transform a general purpose mobile robotic platform into a semi-autonomous agricultural robot sprayer focusing on user interfaces for teleoperation. The hardware and the software modules that must be installed onto the system are described, with particular emphasis on human–robot...

Teleoperation of an agricultural robotic system requires effective and efficient human-robot interaction. This paper investigates the usability of different interaction modes for agricultural robot teleoperation. Specifically, we examined the overall influence of two types of output devices (PC screen, head mounted display), two types of peripheral...

This paper presents a device for accurate pesticide spraying capable of dealing with amorphous shapes and variable-sized targets. The device includes a single spray nozzle with an automatically adjustable spraying angle, color camera, and distance sensors, all mounted on a pan tilt unit. The site-specific spraying device aims to spray specific targ...

This research proposes a multi-sensor task allocation framework for security of supply networks aimed to maximise the number of correctly detected and reported security events (defined as tasks). The framework includes a double layer system consisting of a process layer and a monitoring layer. The process layer allocates sensors to tasks using an a...

To understand the factors that determines human perception of effort. This study investigated the relationship between objective measures of exertion (handgrip force and electromyography – EMG) and perceived effort (Borg scale) during localized activities of the forearm muscles. This relation is important for understanding the factors that determin...

Body condition scoring (BCS) is a farm-management tool for estimating dairy cows' energy reserves. Today, BCS is performed manually by experts. This paper presents a 3-dimensional algorithm that provides a topographical understanding of the cow's body to estimate BCS. An automatic BCS system consisting of a Kinect camera (Microsoft Corp., Redmond,...

This research aims to evaluate new methods for robot motion control and camera orientation control through the operator's head orientation in robot teleoperation tasks. Specifically, the use of head-tracking in a non-invasive way, without immersive virtual reality devices was combined and compared with classical control modes for robot movements an...

Semi-autonomous tele-operation of an agricultural robotic system could help to effectively manage the complexity and performance limitations that current autonomous robots face due to the dynamic and unstructured agricultural environment. Semi-autonomous tele-operation implies the existence of a user interface that supports human-robot interaction...

Agricultural environments impose high demands on robotic grippers since the objects to be grasped (e.g., fruit) suffer from inherent uncertainties in size, shape, weight, and texture, are typically highly sensitive to excessive force, and tend to be partly or fully occluded. This paper presents a methodology for evaluating the influence of percepti...

An adaptive thresholding algorithm combined with sensor fusion to detect sweet-peppers with high detection rates for highly variable illumination conditions is presented. The objectives were to develop an algorithm for sweet-pepper detection, robust to illumination changes, with the aim of achieving high detection rates with low false alarms, that...

This letter presents a method to improve detection for robotic harvesting by changing the task objective in real time in an adaptive thresholding algorithm. The adaptive thresholding algorithm includes three main parts: 3-D adaptive thresholding, object detection, and fusion. Optimal local 3-D thresholds that were previously determined according to...