Alchemist: LLM-Aided End-User Development of Robot Applications

Large Language Models (LLMs) have the potential to catalyze a paradigm shift in end-user robot programming---moving from the conventional process of user specifying programming logic to an iterative, collaborative process in which the user specifies desired program outcomes while LLM produces detailed specifications. We introduce a novel integrated development system, Alchemist, that leverages LLMs to empower end-users in creating, testing, and running robot programs using natural language inputs, aiming to reduce the required knowledge for developing robot applications. We present a detailed examination of our system design and provide an exploratory study involving true end-users to assess capabilities, usability, and limitations of our system. Through the design, development, and evaluation of our system, we derive a set of lessons learned from the use of LLMs in robot programming. We discuss how LLMs may be the next frontier for democratizing end-user development of robot applications.