Augmenting reality for telerobotics: unifying real and virtual worlds

This paper describes the Active Telepresence System and the development of an augmented reality (AR) interface to enhance the operator's sense of presence in hazardous environments. The initial enhancements to the user interface are a virtual instrument panel to aid navigation in a variety of viewing conditions and a virtual cursor that provides a means for the operator to interact with the remote environment. The results of preliminary experiments using the initial enhancements are discussed.