UAV Haptic Interface for Dynamic Obstacle Avoidance

Teleoperation by definition means a deprivation of the teleoperator's senses, which can pose a handicap when operating, e.g., an UAV, in an unknown, perhaps even dynamic environment. Noticing moving obstacles in such a situation can prove to be quite difficult and the UAV runs the risk of colliding with them. Previous work designed a shared control haptic interface based on the artificial force field method to help navigating in a static environment. This interface was evaluated for its usability in a dynamic environment where linearly moving obstacles were present. Offline simulations show that the existing interface would have difficulty in preventing collisions with moving obstacles. A new method is developed based on the velocity obstacles method. The new design supports the operator by using the haptic side stick to guide the operator out of a so-called ``forbidden velocity zone''. Offline tests show that the developed algorithm is indeed capable of avoiding both static and dynamic obstacles. It was implemented in a real-time simulator and investigated further with human-in-the-loop experiments. An initial test in a simulator with five participants shows promising results in avoiding sudden appearing obstacles and moving obstacles in the open field. The haptic controller, however makes maneuvering in tight spaces hard for the operator.