DARPA Robotics Challenge: Towards a user-guided manipulation framework for high-DOF robots

Supervision and teleoperation of high degree-of-freedom robots is a complex task due to environmental constraints such as obstacles and limited communication, as well as task specific requirements such as using more than one end-effector at the same time. In this work we present a supervision and teleoperation framework that allows an operator to see the surroundings of a robot in 3D, make necessary adjustments for a dual or single arm manipulation task, preview the task in simulation before execution, and finally execute the task on a real robot. The framework has been applied to the valve turning task of the DARPA Robotics Challenge on the PR2, Hubo2+, and DRCHubo robots.

High degree-of-freedom (High-DOF) robots requires solving a large set of problems in designing interfaces and systems in a way that will work reliably in real-world conditions. Some of the challenges are: decreasing the cognitive load of the operator(s), handling limited bandwidth communication links, planning in an unstructured environment, assuring the safety of the system, and error-handling. By creating a framework that can operate with real-world challenges and perform industrial manipulation tasks, we hope to decrease robotic response time in disaster situations and mitigate the risk to human disaster relief personnel. ¹

This work was supported in part by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) award #N65236–12-1–1005 for the DARPA Robotics Challenge