A multi-robot system for unconfined video-conferencing

Telepresence or tele-immersion technologies allow people to attend a shared meeting without being physically present in the same location. Commercial telepresence solutions available in the market today have significant drawbacks - they are very expensive, and confine people to the area covered by stationary cameras. In this paper, we present a mobile tele-immersion platform that addresses these issues by using robots with embedded cameras. In our system, the users can move around freely because robots autonomously adjust their locations. We provide a geometric definition of what it means to get a good view of the user, and present control algorithms to maintain a good view. The algorithms are validated both in simulation and in real experiments.

[1]  Gary Bradski,et al.  Computer Vision Face Tracking For Use in a Perceptual User Interface , 1998 .

[2]  Jason Leigh,et al.  Global Tele-Immersion Better Than Being There , 1997 .

[3]  Takeo Kanade,et al.  Virtualized reality: concepts and early results , 1995, Proceedings IEEE Workshop on Representation of Visual Scenes (In Conjunction with ICCV'95).

[4]  Volkan Isler,et al.  Trinocular Stereo: A Real-Time Algorithm and its Evaluation , 2004, International Journal of Computer Vision.

[5]  Rafael Murrieta-Cid,et al.  Optimal Paths for Landmark-Based Navigation by Differential-Drive Vehicles With Field-of-View Constraints , 2007, IEEE Transactions on Robotics.

[6]  Héctor H. González-Baños,et al.  Motion strategies for maintaining visibility of a moving target , 1997, Proceedings of International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[7]  D. C. Brown,et al.  Use of two-dimensional grid patterns to limit hazardous ambulation in demented patients. , 1987, Journal of gerontology.

[8]  Chung-Chih Lin,et al.  Wireless Health Care Service System for Elderly With Dementia , 2006, IEEE Transactions on Information Technology in Biomedicine.

[9]  Klara Nahrstedt,et al.  Implementing a Distributed Tele-immersive System , 2008, 2008 Tenth IEEE International Symposium on Multimedia.

[10]  Ruigang Yang,et al.  3D Tele-Collaboration Over Internet2 , 2002 .

[11]  David B. Kaber,et al.  Telepresence , 1998, Hum. Factors.

[12]  Ruzena Bajcsy,et al.  A Framework for Constructing Real-time Immersive Environments for Training Physical Activities , 2006, J. Multim..

[13]  Steven M. LaValle,et al.  Algorithms for Computing Numerical Optimal Feedback Motion Strategies , 2001, Int. J. Robotics Res..

[14]  J. Lanier.  Virtually there. , 2001, Scientific American.

[15]  S. Sabri,et al.  Video conferencing systems , 1985, Proceedings of the IEEE.

[16]  Ketan Mayer-Patel,et al.  Coordinated multi-streaming for 3D tele-immersion , 2004, MULTIMEDIA '04.

[17]  L. Gharai,et al.  Large Scale Video Conferencing : A Digital Amphitheater , 2002 .

[18]  Dorin Comaniciu,et al.  Mean shift analysis and applications , 1999, Proceedings of the Seventh IEEE International Conference on Computer Vision.

[19]  Ruzena Bajcsy,et al.  A multi-stream adaptation framework for bandwidth management in 3D tele-immersion , 2006, NOSSDAV '06.

[20]  Milton Chen,et al.  Design of a virtual auditorium , 2001, MULTIMEDIA '01.

[21]  Rafael Murrieta-Cid,et al.  Optimal Motion Strategies Based on Critical Events to Maintain Visibility of a Moving Target , 2005, Proceedings of the 2005 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[22]  Thomas Malzbender,et al.  The Coliseum Immersive Teleconferencing System , 2002 .

[23]  Oliver Schreer,et al.  A virtual 3D Video-Conference System Providing Semi-Immersive Telepresence: A Real-Time Solution in Hardware and Software , 2001 .

[24]  Mizue Suzuki,et al.  Feasibility Study of the Integrated Circuit Tag Monitoring System for Dementia Residents in Japan , 2007, American journal of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.

[25]  Steven M. LaValle,et al.  Planning algorithms , 2006 .