Semiautonomous dual-arm mobile manipulator system with intuitive supervisory user interfaces

Abstract

This paper presents the VaultBot dual-arm mobile manipulator and its integration with Robot Operating System, MoveIt!, and RViz, and thus demonstrate how two chronic issues with similar systems were addressed: overly complex integration and user control. Multiple levels of semi-autonomous control were developed for the base, manipulator(s), and coordinated motions involving both. Lower levels of autonomy are always available to increase operator comfort. In order to combat cognitive load increases from context switching the control methods take a human-centered approach by automatically adjusting perspective to keep tasks visualized relative to the operator. Sensor data is fused into a single window alongside the current robot state. These approaches are considered highly intuitive and can be used as effectively as socially well-established mouse-based interactive markers for teleoperation in even high-precision tasks.