Teleoperation of a multi-purpose robot over the internet using augmented reality

Bilateral teleoperation using augmented reality is proposed for a multi-purpose robot called SpiderBot-II that is an indoor-installed wire-driven parallel manipulator. It is intended to be used for various applications, including in-house rehabilitation training and daily life assistance such as walking assistance and health monitoring, especially for the elderly or the handicapped that spends most of time at home. Through the teleoperation over the Internet, a therapist or an attendant in a remote site can give help to the physically disabled by directly manipulating the robot. For easy recognition of the obstacle, predefined markers are attached to each obstacle in the workspace. For better teleoperation, moreover, reaction force between obstacles and the end-effector, which is calculated using force field, is given to a remote operator and this enables the operator to perform the teleoperation more effectively. Force field, which is proportional to proximity between obstacles and the end-effector, is generated to facilitate the obstacle avoidance and visually augmented on the operator's screen for better recognition of obstacles.