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This paper introduces MRReP, a mixed reality interface allowing users to draw hand-drawn reference paths (HRPs) directly onto the physical environment for mobile robot navigation. A custom HRP planner converts these user-specified paths into global plans, enabling robots to navigate according to human spatial intentions. Experimental results show MRReP improves path accuracy, usability, and reduces perceived workload compared to a 2D baseline.
Forget clunky 2D interfaces: MRReP lets you draw robot navigation paths directly onto the real world using hand gestures in mixed reality.
Autonomous mobile robots operating in human-shared indoor environments often require paths that reflect human spatial intentions, such as avoiding interference with pedestrian flow or maintaining comfortable clearance. However, conventional path planners primarily optimize geometric costs and provide limited support for explicit route specification by human operators. This paper presents MRReP, a Mixed Reality-based interface that enables users to draw a Hand-drawn Reference Path (HRP) directly on the physical floor using hand gestures. The drawn HRP is integrated into the robot navigation stack through a custom Hand-drawn Reference Path Planner, which converts the user-specified point sequence into a global path for autonomous navigation. We evaluated MRReP in a within-subject experiment against a conventional 2D baseline interface. The results demonstrated that MRReP enhanced path specification accuracy, usability, and perceived workload, while enabling more stable path specification in the physical environment. These findings suggest that direct path specification in MR is an effective approach for incorporating human spatial intention into mobile robot navigation. Additional material is available at https://mertcookimg.github.io/mrrep