Virtual reality in robotics

Abstract

Computer graphics based "virtual reality" (VR) techniques offer very valuable task visualization aids for planning and previewing robotic systems and tasks, for predicting robotic actions, training robotic system operators, and for visual perception of non-visible events like contact forces in robotic tasks. The utility of computer graphics in robotic operations (in particular, in telerobotic tasks) can be significantly enhanced by high-fidelity calibration of VR images to actual TV camera images. This calibration will even permit the creation of artificial (synthetic) views of task scenes for which no TV camera views are available.