Abstract
- This paper presents an augmented reality-based interface that provides a set of tools needed for full control of a collaborative robot. A mixed reality head-mounted display (HMD) serves as an interface for the operator by superimposing virtual content, allowing interaction with the robotic system. In addition to providing robot state information, such as the joint position, velocity and the force applied to the robot flange, motion commands can also be sent to the robot, which significantly facilitates robot programming. In order to move the robot, the operator can either adjust the joint angles with the visualized sliders or simply drag a cursor that represents the position and orientation of the robot tool center point (TCP). Moreover, the proposed user interface (UI) allows the operator to preset the gripping force while the robot carries out hybrid force position control. Considering that the safety aspect should always be taken into account when moving the robot, the virtual model of the robot is also superimposed on the working environment so that the operator can perform a preview maneuver indicating the current and final position of each joint, before the motion is executed on the real system. The human-robot interface and virtual content are created on top of the Unity3D game engine, while the Robot Operating System (ROS) provides reliable data transmission and processing between the HMD and the robot controller.