Virtual and Mixed Reality in Telerobotics: A Survey

摘要

This chapter has reviewed fundamental concepts and technologies of the general interdisciplinary field described usually by a combination of the terms: Virtual, Augmented or Mixed Reality systems, with the emphasis being on their applications in robot teleoperation. We have first analysed the basics of VR and AR systems, which have shown a great progress of research and development activities during the last decade, demonstrating a constantly increasing repertoire of useful practical applications in diverse domains of human activity. We have then described application scenarios of such VR technologies in the general field of robotics, with the particular focus on telerobotic applications. We have started by presenting a brief historical survey of the field of telerobotics, and identified the major profits that are related to the integration of VR and AR techniques. Virtual environments can be seen as a means to achieve natural, intuitive, multimodal human/computer (and generally human/machine) interaction; in this sense, a VE can function as an efficient mediator between a human operator and a telerobot, with the main objectives being: (a) to enhance human perception of the remote task environment and therefore improve transparency of the telerobotic system, by enriching the visual information (complemented by other form of sensory and sensori-motor stimuli) provided to the user, thus conveying complex data in a more natural and easier way; (b) to contribute to the solution of the time-delay problem in bilateral teleoperation and improve stability of the telerobotic system, by extending the concept of predictive displays and offering a range of control metaphors for both operator assistance and robot autonomy sharing. We have presented a number of successful case studies, where VR techniques have been effectively applied in telerobotics, for the two main robotic systems categories, namely (i) robot manipulators and (ii) mobile robotic vehicles. A long-distance parallel telemanipulation experiment was described, where an intermediate virtual task representation was used involving direct hand actions by means of a VR glove device. The use of telerobotic technologies in a distance training (virtual and remote laboratory) application has been also demonstrated, with very promising results in this important domain. As related to the field of mobile service robotics, two application scenarios have been described, to highlight the benefits that can result from the integration of VR-based interfaces for the teleoperation of robotic vehicles for a variety of tasks, including service / intervention tasks and remote exploration. The link with the field of haptics is also