An Augmented Reality Based Teleoperation Interface For Unstructured Environments

Abstract

The general problem of managing a remotely situated vehicle or manipulator system is discussed, from the point of view of what level of autonomy is feasible. Assuming continued presence of a human operator (HO) in the loop, the advantages of Director / Agent (D/A) control are discussed, as a means of alleviating the tedium of conventional continuous manual teleoperation. In order to realise a viable D/A system, the HO must be able to communicate accurate quantitative 3D task related data to the robot controller. In an unstructured environment, such information is typically neither available a priori nor readily obtainable during task execution. An Augmented Reality display system is introduced as a means to obtain such quantitative measurement data online, via partial modelling of the remote site using a Virtual Tape Measure. Some of the design considerations for this system are discussed and sample measurement accuracy and precision data are presented. I. INTRODUCTION: DIRECTOR/AGE...