Service robots - the appropriate level of automation and the role of users/operators in the task execution

In the past considerable effort has been invested in developing systems which support autonomous task execution of navigation of robots in (partially) unstructured environments. Technological advances resulted in a new application area for robots: the service sector. This paper presents several examples of service robots with different degrees of automation in their task execution. Methods in planning and layout of service robots are addressed. The role of the operator/user-interaction with the system is demonstrated with three examples of prototype service robots. In all examples referencing the robot to the object turned out to be of crucial importance for accurate task execution. This lead to the use of a new optical measurement system: The Reseau Scanning Camera (RSC).