A natural assisted navigation motion for telepresence robots

Recently, the control of telepresence robots is still a challenge for researchers. In this paper, we propose a method to realize a more natural assisted navigation for telepresence robots during teleoperation. Different from existing approaches, the proposed method utilizes an omni-directional chassis which is realized by a three wheels drive (3WD) mechanism. Without using any expensive 3D sensing equipments, our proposed method is realized by using only low cost ultrasonic sensors. To increase the sensing frequency, we propose a new sensing method for the ultrasonic sensors. To generate the avoidance motions, Potential Field (PF) method is applied. Different from conventional approach, obstacle avoidance motions are realized naturally through linear translations. With this method, the robot's orientation can be maintained which improves user experience and allows a more user-friendly teleoperation. To evaluate the proposed method, it has been implemented on our previous developed telepresence robot, called `T-robot'. Results show that the PF method helps reduce the teleoperated time with no collisions and user intervention. Also, a more natural movement and user friendly control is achieved.