Tyczka, D. R., Chatten, M. J., Chatten, J. B., “Comparison of Monoscopic and Stereoscopic Head-Aimed Vision Systems in Perceived Depth, Manipulation and Teleoperation Tasks,” AUVSI's Unmanned Systems North America, Denver, CO, USA, 24 – 27 August 2010
Abstract:
Precise manipulation and driving are paramount to the success of Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) missions. Very often, the precision to which manipulator and driving tasks can be performed is limited by the information content of the platform’s remote vision systems and the resultant challenges faced by the operator to correctly interpret the remotely viewed scene. In support of Robotics Technology Consortium (RTC) Agreement 69-200902, we studied the effectiveness of several different vision systems and compared the performance achieved by subjects as they carried out experimental tasks relevant to EOD operations. In this paper, we present results obtained using monoscopic and stereoscopic high-definition video, monoscopic and stereoscopic standard-definition video, and standard-definition microstereoscopic video. To perform our experiments, several different video cameras were mounted to Chatten Associates’ Head-Aimed Remote Viewer (HARV) high-speed gimbal and subjects viewed the live video using a stereoscopic head-mounted display. Performance scores were based on the subjects’ time to complete the designated tasks and by the number of errors made. In addition to the measured task performance, the different vision systems were evaluated with regard to any discomfort or fatigue experienced by the subjects during their use. The results of this study will be used to guide the design of a complete, integrated HARV variant that includes the most appropriate combination of vision systems for EOD missions. A formal study of the fully integrated system’s effectiveness will then be performed using experienced EOD operators as the test subjects. This ongoing effort is sponsored by the Joint Ground Robotics Enterprise, with technical management provided by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory’s Robotics Research and Development Group at Tyndall AFB, Florida.