Distributed teleoperation and collaborative environment for robotics E-learning and cooperation

Abstract

A new concept is developed that enables users to access remote virtual and real facilities through a Web-based collaborative intelligent environment. The developed system integrates a virtual laboratory with distributed real facilities to help in transferring theoretical knowledge into practice and enables geographically dispersed people to interact by immersing them in a shared 3D intelligent and collaborative environment. This intelligent environment enables individual users manipulating data, manipulating objects, remote diagnostics and analyses, and simultaneously control, monitor, view and discuss results within a team as if they are all were interacting with each other within the same place. This concept has been implemented and virtual robots that mimic a real robot structure with its control panel, operations and control features have been integrated with the environment. Authorized users can access both physical and virtual robots. The physical robots that can be fully distributed in terms of space have been integrated to facilitate tele- and collaborative control operations in real time through the developed interactive 3D intelligent and environment. Three modes of operations have been implemented, individual robot training mode through virtual robot models, multi user mode, and group-based training by instructor. In addition, the control of the real robot is facilitated by simulation and direct control while enabling monitoring during execution on real robots.