Egocentric and exocentric teleoperation interface using real-time, 3D video projection

The user interface is the central element of a telepresence robotic system and its visualization modalities greatly affect the operator's situation awareness, and thus its performance. Depending on the task at hand and the operator's preferences, going from ego- and exocentric viewpoints and improving the depth representation can provide better perspectives of the operation environment. Our system, which combines a 3D reconstruction of the environment using laser range finder readings with two video projection methods, allows the operator to easily switch from ego- to exocentric viewpoints. This paper presents the interface developed and demonstrates its capabilities by having 13 operators teleoperate a mobile robot in a navigation task.

[1]  Michael A. Goodrich,et al.  Ecological Interfaces for Improving Mobile Robot Teleoperation , 2007, IEEE Transactions on Robotics.

[2]  Holly A. Yanco,et al.  "Where am I?" Acquiring situation awareness using a remote robot platform , 2004, 2004 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics (IEEE Cat. No.04CH37583).

[3]  Jean Scholtz,et al.  Awareness in human-robot interactions , 2003, SMC'03 Conference Proceedings. 2003 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics. Conference Theme - System Security and Assurance (Cat. No.03CH37483).

[4]  Julie A. Adams,et al.  Critical Considerations for Human-Robot Interface Development , 2002 .

[5]  Paul Milgram,et al.  A Taxonomy of Real and Virtual World Display Integration , 1999 .

[6]  Michael A. Goodrich,et al.  Towards combining UAV and sensor operator roles in UAV-enabled visual search , 2008, 2008 3rd ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI).

[7]  James F. Blinn,et al.  Models of light reflection for computer synthesized pictures , 1977, SIGGRAPH.

[8]  H. Yanco,et al.  Camera Placement and Multi-Camera Fusion for Remote Robot Operation , 2006 .

[9]  Roland Siegwart,et al.  A comparative psychophysical and EEG study of different feedback modalities for HRI , 2008, 2008 3rd ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI).

[10]  Holly A. Yanco,et al.  Improved interfaces for human-robot interaction in urban search and rescue , 2004, 2004 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics (IEEE Cat. No.04CH37583).

[11]  Holly A. Yanco,et al.  Rescuing interfaces: A multi-year study of human-robot interaction at the AAAI Robot Rescue Competition , 2007, Auton. Robots.

[12]  R. Cloutier,et al.  Telerehabilitation via a mobile robot , 2008, 2008 Virtual Rehabilitation.

[13]  Holly A. Yanco,et al.  Layered Sensor Modalities for Improved Feature Detection , 2004 .

[14]  Holly A. Yanco,et al.  LASSOing HRI: Analyzing situation awareness in map-centric and video-centric interfaces , 2007, 2007 2nd ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI).

[15]  Jean Scholtz,et al.  Evaluation of human-robot interaction awareness in search and rescue , 2004, IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 2004. Proceedings. ICRA '04. 2004.

[16]  Wolfram Burgard,et al.  A real-time expectation-maximization algorithm for acquiring multiplanar maps of indoor environments with mobile robots , 2004, IEEE Transactions on Robotics and Automation.

[17]  Jean Scholtz,et al.  Beyond usability evaluation: analysis of human-robot interaction at a major robotics competition , 2004 .

[18]  Bob G. Witmer,et al.  Judging Perceived and Traversed Distance in Virtual Environments , 1998, Presence.

[19]  Michael A. Goodrich,et al.  Ecological displays for robot interaction: a new perspective , 2004, 2004 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) (IEEE Cat. No.04CH37566).

[20]  H. Yanco,et al.  Analysis of Human-Robot Interaction for Urban Search and Rescue , 2006 .

[21]  François Michaud,et al.  Telepresence Robot for Home Care Assistance , 2007, AAAI Spring Symposium: Multidisciplinary Collaboration for Socially Assistive Robotics.