An application framework for measuring the performance of a visual servo control of a reaching task for the visually impaired

Abstract

In this work, we propose a framework that can provide performance metrics with regards to the usability of an assistive device designed to provide visual servoing of a reaching task performed by a visually impaired individual. The framework provides a model and methodology from which performance metrics can be synthesized based on robotic manipular kinematics and an adaptation of Fitts' law for reaching task motions in a 3D environment. The purpose of which is to facilitate an understanding of how well the system's design accommodates the user's natural movement style when performing the reaching task. Use of advances in visual tracking techniques employing scale, view-point, and illumination invariant features are incorporated to allow for a further decoupling of the feature space from the joint-level control space.