Using compliant robots as projective interfaces in dynamic environments

Abstract

We present a human-robot interface for projecting information on arbitrary planar surfaces by sharing a visual understanding of the workspace. A compliant 7-DOF arm robot endowed with a pico-projector and a depth sensor has been used for the experiment. The perceptual capabilities allows the system to detect geometry features of the environment which are used for superimposing undistorted projection on planar surfaces. The proposed scenario consists of a first phase in which the user physically interacts with the gravity compensated robot for choosing the place where the projection will appear. After, in the second phase, the robotic arm is able to autonomously superimpose visual information in the selected area and actively adapt to perturbations. We also present a proof-of-concept for managing occlusions and tracking the position of the projection whenever obstacles enter in the projection field. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.