From WWWwikiEn<span style="display: none;">[[Image:IROS11_Perez]][[Image:WHC11_Perez.pdf]][[Image:IROS10_PackiBeutler]][[Image:IROS10_Perez]][[Image:PED10_Perez.pdf]][[Image:ICINCO09_Perez.pdf]][[Image:CASA09_Perez.pdf]]</span> <span style="display: none;">[[Image:IROS11_Perez]][[Image:WHC11_Perez.pdf]][[Image:IROS10_PackiBeutler]][[Image:IROS10_Perez]][[Image:PED10_Perez.pdf]][[Image:ICINCO09_Perez.pdf]][[Image:CASA09_Perez.pdf]]</span>

Antonia Pérez Arias

	Research Assistant, Ph.D. Student
	Address:	Karlsruher Institut für Technologie Institut für Anthropomatik Gebäude 50.20 Raum 133 Adenauerring 2 D-76131 Karlsruhe
	Walk-in hours:	on arrangement
	Phone:	+49-721-608-46895
	E-mail:	Antonia.Perez@kit.edu

Academic Career

Research Interests

• Telepresence
• Virtual Reality and Haptics
• Bilateral Control
• Robotics

Teaching

• Coordinator and tutor of the laboratory Seminar "Intelligente Sensor-Aktor-Systeme" (winter term 2007/2008 to winter term 2011/2012)
• Supervising tutor of the laboratory Praktikum: Forschungsprojekt "Intelligente Sensor-Aktor-Systeme" (winter term 2007/2008 to summer term 2011)

Awards

• Award for the laboratory Praktikum: Forschungsprojekt "Intelligente Sensor-Aktor-Systeme" in the summer term 2008
• Award for the laboratory Praktikum: Forschungsprojekt "Intelligente Sensor-Aktor-Systeme" in the winter term 2009/2010

Publications

Publikationen

Proceedings of the Transportation Research Board 91st Annual Meeting (TRB 2012), Washington D. C., USA, January, 2012.

Author : Tobias Kretz, Antonia Pérez Arias, Simon Friedberger, Uwe D. Hanebeck
Title : Using Extended Range Telepresence to Collect Data of Pedestrian Dynamics
In : Proceedings of the Transportation Research Board 91st Annual Meeting (TRB 2012)
Date : January 2012

Proceedings of the first IEEE Workshop on Modeling, Simulation and Visual Analysis of Large Crowds in conjunction with the 13th International Conference on Computer Vision (ICCV 2011), Barcelona, Spain, November, 2011.

Author : Tobias Kretz, Stefan Hengst, Vidal Roca, Antonia Pérez Arias, Simon Friedberger, Uwe D. Hanebeck
Title : Calibrating Dynamic Pedestrian Route Choice with an Extended Range Telepresence System
In : Proceedings of the first IEEE Workshop on Modeling, Simulation and Visual Analysis of Large Crowds in conjunction with the 13th International Conference on Computer Vision (ICCV 2011)
Date : November 2011

Abstract

In this contribution we present the results of a pilot study
in which an Extended Range Telepresence System is used to
calibrate parameters of a pedestrian model for simulation.
The parameters control a model element that is intended
to make simulated agents walk in the direction of the esti-
mated smallest remaining travel time. We use this to, first,
show that that an Extended Range Telepresence System can
serve for such a task in general and second to actually find
simulation parameters that yield realistic results.

Proceedings of the 2011 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2011), San Francisco, California, USA, September, 2011.

Author : Antonia Pérez Arias, Uwe D. Hanebeck
Title : Motion Control of a Semi-Mobile Haptic Interface for Haptic Interaction in Arbitrarily-Sized Target Environments
In : Proceedings of the 2011 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2011)
Date : September 2011

Abstract

This paper presents the control concept of a semimobile
haptic interface for extended range telepresence that
enables the user to explore spatially unrestricted target environments
even from a small user environment. The semi-mobile
haptic interface consists of a haptic manipulator mounted on
a large grounded Cartesian robot, the prepositioning unit. The
prepositioning unit is controlled in such a way that the haptic
manipulator is kept off its workspace limits. At the same
time, the control algorithm allows the optimal utilization of
the available space in the user environment and guarantees the
safety of the user. The proposed control method is based on
the position and velocity of the end-effector and also takes the
position of the user into account. Moreover, it is robust against
noisy measurements of the user position or outliers due, for
example, to occlusions in the tracking system. Experimental
results show the suitability of the proposed control to provide
haptic interaction in extended range telepresence.

Proceedings of the Traffic and Granular Flow Conference 2011 (TGF 2011), Moscow, Russia, September, 2011.

Author : Tobias Kretz, Stefan Hengst, Antonia Pérez Arias, Simon Friedberger, Uwe D. Hanebeck
Title : Using Extended Range Telepresence to Investigate Route Choice Behavior
In : Proceedings of the Traffic and Granular Flow Conference 2011 (TGF 2011)
Date : September 2011

Abstract

A combination of a telepresence system and a microscopic traffic
simulator is introduced. It is evaluated using a hotel evacuation scenario.
Four different kinds of supporting information are compared, standard exit signs,
floor plans with indicated exit routes, guiding lines on the floor and simulated agents
leading the way. The results indicate that guiding lines are the most efficient way
to support an evacuation but the natural behavior of following others comes very
close. On another level the results are consistent with previously performed real
and virtual experiments and validate the use of a telepresence system in evacuation
studies. It is shown that using a microscopic traffic simulator extends the
possibilities for evaluation, e.g. by adding simulated humans to the environment.

Proceedings of the IEEE World Haptics Conference (WHC 2011), Istanbul, Turkey, June, 2011.

Author : Antonia Pérez Arias, Henning P. Eberhardt, Florian Pfaff, Uwe D. Hanebeck
Title : The Plenhaptic Guidance Function for Intuitive Navigation in Extended Range Telepresence Scenarios
In : Proceedings of the IEEE World Haptics Conference (WHC 2011)
Date : June 2011

Abstract

In this work, we propose a plenhaptic guidance function that systematically describes the haptic information
for guiding the user in the target environment. The plenhaptic guidance function defines the strength of the guidance at any position in space,
at any direction, and at any time, and takes the geometry of the target environment as well as all possible goals into account.
The plenhaptic guidance function, which can be rendered as active and passive guidance, is sampled and displayed to the user through a haptic interface in the user environment.
The benefits of the plenhaptic guidance function for guiding the user to several simultaneous goals while avoiding the obstacles in a large target environment
are demonstrated in real experiments.

Proceedings of the 2010 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2010), Taipei, Taiwan, October, 2010.

Author : Ferdinand Packi, Antonia Pérez Arias, Frederik Beutler, Uwe D. Hanebeck
Title : A Wearable System for the Wireless Experience of Extended Range Telepresence
In : Proceedings of the 2010 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2010)
Date : October 2010

Abstract

Extended range telepresence aims at enabling a
user to experience virtual or remote environments, taking his
own body movements as an input to define walking speed and
viewing direction. Therefore, localization and tracking of the
users pose (position and orientation) is necessary to perform
a body-centered scene rendering. Visual and acoustic feedback
is provided to the user by a head mounted display (HMD).
To allow for free movement within the user environment, the
tracking system is supposed to be user-wearable and entirely
wireless. Consequently, a lightweight design is presented fea-
turing small dimensions to fit into a conventional 13”laptop
backpack, which satisfies the above stated demands for highly
immersive extended range telepresence scenarios. Dedicated
embedded hardware combined with off-the-shelf components
is employed to form a robust, low-cost telepresence system that
can be easily installed in any living room.

Proceedings of the 2010 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2010), Taipei, Taiwan, October, 2010.

Author : Antonia Pérez Arias, Uwe D. Hanebeck
Title : Wide-Area Haptic Guidance: Taking the User by the Hand
In : Proceedings of the 2010 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2010)
Date : October 2010

Abstract

In this paper, we present a novel use of haptic
information in extended range telepresence, the wide-area haptic
guidance. It consists of force and position signals applied to the
user’s hand in order to improve safety, accuracy, and speed in
some telepresent tasks. Wide-area haptic guidance assists the
user in reaching a desired position in a remote environment of
arbitrary size without degrading the feeling of presence. Several
methods for haptic guidance are analyzed. With active haptic
guidance, the user is guided by superimposed forces that pull
him into the desired direction of motion, whereas under passive
haptic guidance, the movement of the user is lightened in the
preferred direction and constrained in the other directions. By
using closed-loop haptic guidance instead of open-loop haptic
guidance, not only is the user guided to his target but also
the deviation from the desired target path is reduced. The
proposed guidance methods were tested with a haptic interface
specifically designed for extended range telepresence.

Proccedings of the 5th International Conference on Pedestrian and Evacuation Dynamics (PED 2010), Springer-Verlag, Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA, March, 2010.

Author : Antonia Pérez Arias, Tobias Kretz, Peter Ehrhardt, Stefan Hengst, Peter Vortisch, Uwe D. Hanebeck
Title : Extended Range Telepresence for Evacuation Training in Pedestrian Simulations
In : Proccedings of the 5th International Conference on Pedestrian and Evacuation Dynamics (PED 2010), Springer-Verlag
Date : March 2010

Abstract

In this contribution, we propose a new framework to evaluate pedestrian
simulations by using Extended Range Telepresence. Telepresence is
used as a virtual reality walking simulator, which provides the user
with a realistic impression of being present and walking in a virtual
environment that is much larger than the real physical environment,
in which the user actually walks. The validation of the simulation
is performed by comparing motion data of the telepresent user with
simulated data at some points of the simulation. The use of haptic
feedback from the simulation makes the framework suitable for training
in emergency situations.

Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics (ICINCO 2009), pp. 222-227, Milan, Italy, July, 2009.

Author : Antonia Pérez Arias, Uwe D. Hanebeck
Title : A Novel Haptic Interface for Extended Range Telepresence: Control and Evaluation
In : Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics (ICINCO 2009)
Date : July 2009

Abstract

A novel haptic interface for extended range telepresence
is presented that allows the user simultaneous wide area motion and
haptic interaction in remote environments. To achieve an extended
workspace, the haptic interface consists of a haptic manipulator for
precise haptic rendering and a large portal carrier system that
enlarges the workspace by prepositioning the end-effector. As the
prepositioning unit is grounded and driven by three linear drives, our
approach has the advantages of high force capability, and an accurate
positioning of the haptic interface. The use of this haptic interface
with Motion Compression permits to explore large remote environments
even from small user environments. As a result, not only has the user
visual, acoustic, and haptic feedback but can also control the
teleoperator or avatar by natural walking, which considerably increases
the sense of immersion. A prototype system for haptic extended range
telepresence was designed, implemented, and tested.

Proceedings of the 22nd Annual Conference on Computer Animation and Social Agents (CASA 2009), pp. 13-16, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, June, 2009.

Author : Antonia Pérez Arias, Tobias Kretz, Peter Ehrhardt, Stefan Hengst, Peter Vortisch, Uwe D. Hanebeck
Title : A Framework for Evaluating the VISSIM Traffic Simulation with Extended Range Telepresence
In : Proceedings of the 22nd Annual Conference on Computer Animation and Social Agents (CASA 2009)
Date : June 2009

Abstract

This paper presents a novel framework
for combining traffic simulations and extended range
telepresence. The real user\'s position data can thus
be used for validation and calibration of models of
pedestrian dynamics, while the user experiences a
high degree of immersion by interacting with agents
in realistic simulations.