Design And Implementation Of A Teleoperation Method Based On Augmented Reality

To manipulate a robot at a distance is what we called teleoperation. The system we used to conduct such operation(a.k.a. teleoperation system) could help us to overcome our physical constraints and ensure our safty in tasks like space operation, underwater operation, micro-nano manipulation and explosive device disposal operation. In turn, we could help the robot to perform more skillful moves with our experience and adaptiveness. Appearantly, teleoperation system could also enhance the cooperation between human and robot in common circumstance.Currently, most researches about teleoperation systems focus on providing immersive experience, with which the operator could carry out more effective control based on more accurate judgement about the scene. Differed from teleoperation systems that implement virtual reality(VR) technology, the teleoperation method proposed in this project adopted augmented reality(AR) technology. With AR, the operator could be aware of local surroundings while manipulating a remote facility. Therefore, accidental touch could be avoided. At the same time, the operation efficiency would be improved because the operatior no longer needs to repeatedly take off the HMD(Head-mounted Display).In the system proposed in this article, a robotic arm carries out tasks at remote station. The stereo camera mounted on its gripper recovers depth information through dense stereo matching and constructs a 3D model of remote scene during initialization. Then, the 3D model would be updated at runtime. AR is mainly implemented at the local station, where a Ar Uco fudicial tag array is used to accomplish the regstration process. Once the expected pose of the 3D model is determined, its display would be merged into local surroundings. Besides, the interaction between the user and virtual objects is realized. Such interaction mechanism not only facilitates the configuration adjustment of display, but also enables motion control of the robotic arm. With all these functions running, the operator could perform teleoperation simply through manipulating virtual objects at local station.All desired functions have been evaluated on a platform constructed on the basis of desktop PCs, which prooved that the user experience and efficency of teleoperation system could be enhanced throgh the implementation of AR. According to an analysis, this design could be easily adapted for different platforms.