Intuitive control of a multi-robot-system by means of projective virtual reality

Experiences in controlling a multi-robot-system which is capable of performing different experiment handling and service tasks in a space laboratory environment, showed that the realization of a man machine interface based on modern virtual reality (VR) techniques is a promising approach for a new command and supervision interface that is intuitively operable. The general aim of the development described here was to provide the general framework for "projective virtual reality" which allows to "project" actions that are carried out by users in the virtual world into the real world with the help of robots. This framework is based on a new approach which relies on the "task deduction" capabilities of the virtual-reality-system and the task planning component of the multi-robot-control.