Assisted Viewpoint Control for Tele-Robotic Search

Mixed-Initiative robotic systems have been successful with providing assistance for maneuvering a robot’s position through a hazardous environment. However, providing assistance to resolve viewing parameters such as camera orientation have met with mixed results. Previous attempts, while effective at increasing the likelihood that key viewpoints are utilized, have met with strong dissatisfaction and struggles for control, overriding the some of the potential benefits of the automation. This study evaluates the effects of offloading the assistance to a separate, co-located video feed. The findings suggest that it is possible to provide assistance to viewpoint control without encroaching on the operator’s threshold for desired control.