A ROS-based teleoperation framework : Control of a KUKA robot through Virtual Reality

Abstract

This paper develops the Final Master Thesis of the Master in Industrial Engineering of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. Although it is developed during the fourth semester of the Master during the Erasmus+ program at the University of Naples Federico II, particularly in the laboratory MarteLab at CESMA Centre. Robotics entered our lives decades ago to facilitate processes and activities in various fields. As time goes by, robots are becoming more and more sophisticated and consequently capable of carrying out more complex activities. The vast majority are focused on performing repetitive and tedious tasks, such as industrial robots. When a robot is intended to perform more complex tasks it is necessary to put measures in place so that if it fails, to help it get going again. There are times when it is not possible for this help to be on site, and this is where teleoperation comes into play. In this project, the design and implementation of a teleoperation system of a Robot bartender, which performs the cocktail that the customer requests. The project is divided into several tasks and components: the first is the Operator Site, where everything related to Unity3D has been implemented, its interface, the connection with the HTC Vive Pro set and more. On the other hand, there is the Robot Site, where the Robotic arm is located and everything necessary to obtain the necessary information. Finally, the connection of the whole system is done through ROS, which is the core of the present thesis. To check if the implemented teleoperation system is suitable to the users, it has been tested through a simple experiment that consists of picking up a falling glass to put it in the correct position and allow the robotic arm to continue with its task. Subsequently, users have answered two usability and mental workload questionnaires, with significantly positive results