Multi-robot Systems, Virtual Reality and ROS

Abstract

This chapter describes a series of works developed in order to integrate ROS-based robots with Unity-based virtual reality interfaces. The main goal of this integration is to develop immersive monitoring and commanding interfaces, able to improve the operator’s situational awareness without increasing its workload. In order to achieve this, the available technologies and resources are analyzed and multiple ROS packages and Unity assets are applied, such as multimaster_fkie, rosbridge_suite, RosBridgeLib and SteamVR. Moreover, three applications are presented: an interface for monitoring a fleet of drones, another interface for commanding a robot manipulator and an integration of multiple ground and aerial robots. Finally, some experiences and lessons learned, useful for future developments, are reported.