Smartphone Teleoperation for Self-balancing Telepresence Robots

Self-balancing mobile platforms have recently been adopte d in many applications thanks to their light-weight and slim build. However, inherent instability in their beha viour makes both manual and autonomous operation more challenging as compared to traditional self-standing platforms. In this work, we experimentally evaluate three teleoperation user interface approaches to remotely control a self-balancing telepresence platform: 1) touchscreen button user interface, 2) tilt user interface a nd 3) hybrid touchscreen-tilt user interface. We provide evaluation in quantitative terms based on user trajectorie s and recorded control data, and qualitative findings from user surveys. Both quantitative and qualitative resul ts support our finding that the hybrid user interface (a speed slider with tilt turn) is a suitable approach for sma rtphone-based teleoperation of self-balancing telepresence robots. We also introduce a client-server bas ed multi-user telepresence architecture using open

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