Multiple camera image interface for assisting in the control of mobile robots

Abstract

A simple interface is described that makes it easier for operators of mobile robots to use multiple images provided by distributed cameras. While the images provided by multiple cameras located on ceilings or walls can provide global position information for use in navigating mobile robots, a human operator must be able to understand the working area by observing the multiple images, which is burdensome. Accounting for this, we propose a simple interface for operating the mobile robot through multiple camera images. To assist human recognition of the relationship between multi-displayed images from cameras located in unknown wide working areas, we designed and implemented the interface to have the following main features: (i) indication of overlap areas from cameras to support human recognition of working areas and (ii) indication of rough routes for robot navigation to assist robot operation from captured images. The effectiveness of the interface and that of the entire robot system were demonstrated experimentally.