Development of an Augmented Reality User Interface for Collaborative Robotics in Quality Inspection for Manufacturing

This paper presents, implements and evaluates an augmented reality user interface for collaborative robots (cobots) in a quality inspection environment. The aim is to enable a worker to understand the movement of a cobot through an innovative projection design and to ease the teaching of new movement points into the robotic system. A virtual camera captures the position of the cobot and additional information in the RViz simulation, and a projector projects the actual and future positions of the cobot as well as visual cues and buttons on the ground of the shared workspace. Laser scanners are utilized to detect feet interacting with the visual buttons. To evaluate the effectiveness of the augmented reality user interface, a survey with people working alongside the cobot equipped with the visualization-system is conducted. The survey assesses the perceived usefulness, ease of understanding, and overall satisfaction with the user interface. The result of the survey indicates that the user interface significantly improves the comprehension of cobots actions. Participants working with this visualization system report enhanced situational awareness, reduced ambiguity, and increased efficiency. The qualitative feedback highlights the effectiveness of the visual cues in conveying information and the ease of integration into existing production processes.