Remote Control Vehicle Guidance Using Stereoscopic Displays

Abstract

A remote handling vehicle is presently in service with the Metropolitan Police Bomb Squad in London, England. Its prime role is in approaching and neutralising suspect explosive devices, including vehicles, whilst being operated from a safe distance, aided by a closed circuit television system. As a result of using this equipment certain serious limitations have become apparent. When operating the vehicle in an unfamiliar environment (which is usually the case), the precise position of the robot in relation to its surroundings is very often difficult to determine. Also, on arriving at the target area the operator may still face problems in effectively bringing into operation the various attachments and weapons carried on board. This is because only a standard two-dimensional television image with its restricted amount of visual information is presented to the operator. These factors have led to a situation where there is now a reluctance on the part of Bomb Squad personnel to use this vehicle in the role for which it was intended. In September, 1982, after discussion with all interested parties, it was proposed that a three-dimensional television system should be designed which could be mounted on the remote handling vehicle. The type chosen was the time-division technique which takes advantage of the interlace facility in the standard television display and employs electro-optic lenses in the viewing spectacles. The camera unit has controlled focus, zoom and convergence, but a fixed camera separation. It has been designed to make it relatively easy for the operator to adjust the parameters of the stereo-camera as the working visual range of the robot changes. The vehicle can be controlled up to a maximum of 800m from the operator and recording and play-back of the images on a standard video recorder is possible. This requirement was one of the main reasons for adopting the time-division technique. Although the robot is not yet in service, the results of introducing the potential operators to this new kind of display have been most encouraging. It is anticipated that further information relating to this aspect of the work will be available in the near future.