Remote-Controlled Method with Force and Visual Assists Based on Time to Collision for Mobile Robot

Abstract

Various remote-controlled methods have been developed to improve operability using force or visual assists; however, using only force or visual assists may deteriorate the operability or safety performance. Therefore, a remote-controlled method with both force and visual assists is proposed to improve the operability while maintaining safety performance. The proposed remote-controlled system consists of a wheeled mobile robot, control device, and monitor. The force assist is generated using the time to collision (TTC), which is the predicted time of collision of the mobile robot against an obstacle. This force assist is applied to the operator using a control device to achieve collision avoidance. Using a visual assist, a predicted trajectory for the mobile robot based on the TTC is generated. For operability improvement, this predicted trajectory with color gradation is shown on the monitor. In summary, the achievement of operability improvement while maintaining safety performance is confirmed from experimental results using the proposed method.