Simulation-based environment for the eye-tracking control of tele-operated mobile robots

摘要

Eye tracking has traditionally been used to measure the visual attention of users while performing a task or to aide disabled persons in performing hands-free interactions. The increased accuracy and reduced cost of eye-tracking equipment today makes it feasible to utilize this technology for explicit control tasks, especially in cases where there is confluence between the visual task and control. This paper describes the design of a virtual simulation environment in order to assess the feasibility of using eye-tracking to control the movement and payload of a ground robot during a visual search task. The resulting simulation-based test environment includes a kinematic model of a ground tele-operated robot within a virtual debris-filled, industrial environment with intact and damaged barrels. The operator can steer the robot while independently operating an onboard pan-tilt (PT) camera used to search for damaged containers. The environment supports three methods of control: manual, in which the operator utilizes two joysticks, one for speed/steering and one for camera control, hybrid in which the operator utilizes a joystick for speed/steering control and eye-tracking for camera control, and hands-free in which the operator utilizes gaze for both steering/speed control and camera operation.