A robot teleoperation system based on virtual reality and WLAN

A teleoperation system of mending robots based on virtual reality and WLAN is established and its core techniques are described. VC++, OpenGL, 3DS MAX are adopted to carry out the virtual environment and the virtual robot. WLAN (Wireless LAN) with high gain antenna is used to realize teleoperation function that operators can use the virtual robot to control the real robot several kilometres away. Path planning of the robot consists of the mobile vehicle part and the manipulator part. The A star algorithm is adopted to plan path of the mobile vehicle, and some other codes are added to optimize paths, then the path would be much straighter and smoother to fit the robot's movement. Trajectory and pose of the manipulator are reckoned by Matlab, and controlled by PMAC (program multiple axis controller). In order to avoid collision between the robot and other objects, improved OBB algorithm is adopted to detect collision in the virtual environment. A great deal of on-the-spot experiments proves that this teleoperation platform is reliable and efficient. Under the operator's control, the real robot can reach the place of leakage where the repairing is needed without any collision and accomplish the maintenance task smoothly.