Low-Burden LLM-Based Preference Learning: Personalizing Assistive Robots from Natural Language Feedback for Users with Paralysis

Fuente: arXiv
Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Hauptverfasser: Shankar, Keshav, Ding, Dan, Gao, Wei
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2026
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
_version_ 1866910096597975040
author Shankar, Keshav
Ding, Dan
Gao, Wei
author_facet Shankar, Keshav
Ding, Dan
Gao, Wei
contents Physically Assistive Robots (PARs) require personalized behaviors to ensure user safety and comfort. However, traditional preference learning methods, like exhaustive pairwise comparisons, cause severe physical and cognitive fatigue for users with profound motor impairments. To solve this, we propose a low-burden, offline framework that translates unstructured natural language feedback directly into deterministic robotic control policies. To safely bridge the gap between ambiguous human speech and robotic code, our pipeline uses Large Language Models (LLMs) grounded in the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework (OTPF). This clinical reasoning decodes subjective user reactions into explicit physical and psychological needs, which are then mapped into transparent decision trees. Before deployment, an automated "LLM-as-a-Judge" verifies the code's structural safety. We validated this system in a simulated meal preparation study with 10 adults with paralysis. Results show our natural language approach significantly reduces user workload compared to traditional baselines. Additionally, independent clinical experts confirmed the generated policies are safe and accurately reflect user preferences.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_01463
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Low-Burden LLM-Based Preference Learning: Personalizing Assistive Robots from Natural Language Feedback for Users with Paralysis
Shankar, Keshav
Ding, Dan
Gao, Wei
Robotics
Artificial Intelligence
Human-Computer Interaction
Physically Assistive Robots (PARs) require personalized behaviors to ensure user safety and comfort. However, traditional preference learning methods, like exhaustive pairwise comparisons, cause severe physical and cognitive fatigue for users with profound motor impairments. To solve this, we propose a low-burden, offline framework that translates unstructured natural language feedback directly into deterministic robotic control policies. To safely bridge the gap between ambiguous human speech and robotic code, our pipeline uses Large Language Models (LLMs) grounded in the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework (OTPF). This clinical reasoning decodes subjective user reactions into explicit physical and psychological needs, which are then mapped into transparent decision trees. Before deployment, an automated "LLM-as-a-Judge" verifies the code's structural safety. We validated this system in a simulated meal preparation study with 10 adults with paralysis. Results show our natural language approach significantly reduces user workload compared to traditional baselines. Additionally, independent clinical experts confirmed the generated policies are safe and accurately reflect user preferences.
title Low-Burden LLM-Based Preference Learning: Personalizing Assistive Robots from Natural Language Feedback for Users with Paralysis
topic Robotics
Artificial Intelligence
Human-Computer Interaction
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.01463