Multiple mobile robot operation by human

Abstract

We propose an operation method to control mobile robot groups by a single human user, and build a system in which the human user and robots achieve tasks cooperatively. As for the commanding aspect, we divide orders from the user into four levels and consider the relationship between orders and autonomy of robots required. The main features of our method include: 1) the human user commands not just an individual robot, but groups of robots; and 2) our system has autonomy in proportion to user command levels and complements lack of command for the group (sometimes commands for the group is not sufficient for individual robot control). Regarding the monitoring aspect, we introduce a CCD camera system into our system and display information on a CRT display which shows the image of the work area. The user can monitor a remote environment and simultaneously obtain the information needed during operation. We verify the efficiency of our method and system by experiments.