Effects of Augmented Reality on the Performance of Teleoperated Industrial Assembly Tasks in a Robotic Embodiment

Teleoperation in robotic embodiments allows operators to perform and program manipulation tasks with better accuracy, dexterity, and visualization than what is possible with traditional human-robot interaction paradigms. However, the perception of cues (e.g., egocentric distances) relevant to task execution, is known to be distorted in virtual environments due to many factors, which can be grouped into technical, human, and methodological categories. This phenomenon becomes more pronounced in a low-cost/encumbrance setup, where the dynamic environment is captured with color and depth (RGB-D) cameras and presented in a virtual environment. In this paper, the effects of augmented reality (AR) are evaluated as a tool to deliver additional information, which helps in overcoming the differences in perception between telepresence and actual presence. The AR feedback is used to improve the embodiment illusion and to guide the operator during task execution. The AR setup, comprising an RGB-D camera and a head-mounted display, is integrated with the Baxter robot and evaluated by involving 22 participants in an experiment while they execute a pick-and-place task, taking into account their expertise in AR/virtual reality (VR) and gaming. The use of AR results in enhancing the accuracy and efficiency of the task performance, besides significantly reducing the effect of the differences in skillfulness between the participants. Furthermore, it is found that the sense of presence and embodiment for the participant is positively affected by different types of AR.