Prototyping Mid-Air Display for Anywhere Robot Communication With Projected Spatial AR
Keywords: Fog screen, mid-air display, robot communication, projected AR, augmented reality (AR), human-robot interaction (HRI)
Abstract: Augmented reality (AR) allows visualizations to be situated where they are relevant, e.g., in a robot's operating environment or task space. Yet, headset-based AR suffers a scalability issue because every viewer must wear a headset. Projector-based spatial AR solves this problem by projecting augmentations onto the scene, e.g., recognized objects or navigation paths viewable to crowds. However, this solution mostly requires vertical flat surfaces that may not exist in open areas like warehouses, construction sites, and search and rescue scenes. Moreover, when humans are not co-located with the robot or situated at a distance, the projection may not be visible to humans. Thus, there is a need to create a flat, viewable surface for humans in such scenarios.
In this work, we designed a prototype of a fog screen device to create a flat, projectable display surface in the air. A robot with such a device mounted empowers it to communicate with humans in environments without flat surfaces or with only irregular surfaces in search and rescue sites. Specifically, we detail the design, covering underlying principles, material selection, 3D modeling, and evaluation. We will verify and iterate the design, explore the optimal mounting position, and conduct human evaluation in the future.
Submission Number: 4
Loading