Technological advancement has helped in making lives better and the ongoing inventions are indicating a future where humans and robots are likely to interact in a shared atmosphere. A few roboticists have assumed accidents or collisions in such environments and they are continuously working on the same.
So far, roboticists have invented several technologies where the environment will be monitored by robots, and it will predict future actions to avoid collisions or accidents. The technology will also identify safe trajectories for the robot and control its movement accordingly.
How It Will Work?
While it is challenging to predict human behavior and movement, predicting the movement of the robot seems to be uncomplicated. As the robots are programmed to accomplish specific tasks or goals, it will be easier for humans to anticipate the robot’s movements more simply. This method is suitable for avoiding collisions and it will take a few days of practice to adapt the actions in such environments.
Recently, a group of researchers from Kyushu University, Japan has invented a technology that will allow individuals to predict future alterations in the surroundings that will guide their actions or inform their decision.
Role of AR & VR
The experiment has been published in Advanced Robotics and it gathers a dataset about information regarding objects, the position of furniture, robot, and humans so that it can produce simulations of events. Then, it is presented to individuals via Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR). The researchers also admitted that they have developed an exclusive technology called previewed reality. The technology is made of an informative structured atmosphere, a dynamics simulator, and AR/VR display. The researchers are optimistic about the effectiveness and they are confident, this technology will help to bring significant changes in the future.
Gathering Information
In order to gather information about humans, robots, and objects in an environment, the researcher has relied on optical trackers, strategically placed sensors, and an RGB-D camera. While the camera is used to monitor human actions, the optical trackers have been used to monitor the objects. Once all the information is collected, it is sent to a dynamics simulator and a motion planner and it helped individuals to predict future actions within a specific atmosphere. Predicting future actions rely on synthesized images of actions, and if someone wishes to have a look, they can see it after wearing an AR display or VR headset.
The researchers explained that the viewpoint of the humans is also tracked by an optical tracking system and it provides a user-friendly atmosphere where humans can interact with the robots and warn about possible hazardous outcomes before the action takes place. The researchers are optimistic that previewed reality has the potential to emerge as a substitute for traditional collision avoidance systems and they hope, the technology will be used to improve interaction or safety in various situations. The researchers are planning to create a more advanced version of the technology that can be accessed from portable devices like smartphones, which will make it more appealing to all.
