Tele-Operation of Robot by Image Processing of Markers Attached to Operator's Head

In this paper, we develop an interface for robotic teleoperation via the user's head movement. The movement is measured with a camera, by tracking the markers attached to the operator's head. By tracking movements of the head in real time using the three-dimensional position data of the markers, the operation system allows three degrees of freedom (DOFs) of the robot, yaw, pitch and zoom in and out. Image processing software (ARToolkit) is used to track the markers. A laparoscopic holder robot and a pick and place robot are controlled by this interface. The experimental results with the holder robot showed that the operation time is almost the same when using this interface in comparison to using a gyro sensor attached to the operator's head. The effectiveness of the interface was also demonstrated with a nick and place robot.