Autonomous and teleoperated robots have been proven to be capable of solving complex manipulation tasks. However, autonomous robots can only be deployed in predefined domains and teleoperation requires full attention of a human operator. Therefore, combining autonomous capabilities of the robot with teleoperation is desirable, yet balancing the work load between robot and operator for intuitive human-robot interfaces is still an open issue. In this paper, we present a knowledge-driven tablet computer application for commanding a robot on a high level of abstraction. The application guides an operators decisions based on the actual world state of the robot and enables the operator to command object-centered actions, which are autonomously interpreted symbolically and geometrically by the robot. We evaluate our approach using the humanoid robot Rollin' Justin for an elaborate manipulation experiment and an user study. We show that our approach efficiently balances the work load between robot and operator and provides an intuitive interface for human-robot interaction.

The on-going work at German Aerospace Center (DLR) and European Space Agency (ESA) on the Meteron SupvisJustin space telerobotic experiment utilizing supervised autonomy is presented. The Supvis-Justin experiment will employ a tablet UI for an astronaut on the International Space Station (ISS) to communicate task level commands to a service robot. The goal is to explore the viability of supervised autonomy for space telerobotics. For its validation, survey, navigation, inspection, and maintenance tasks will be commanded to DLR's service robot, Rollin' Justin, to be performed in a simulated extraterrestrial environment constructed at DLR. The experiment is currently slated for late 2015-2016.

This paper describes the software architecture and design of the space segment, communication and ground segment software of the Kontur-2 project, which contributed to the realization of telepresent planetary exploration. The main research objectives in Kontur-2 were the development and in-flight verification of a space qualified two degree of freedom (DoF) force-feedback joystick (RJo) inside the Zvezda Service Module of the International Space Station (ISS), the implementation of telepresence technologies and the study of human performance when controlling a force feedback joystick in microgravity. The project was conducted from 2012 to 2015 by a consortium consisting of the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS), The Russian State Scientific Center for Robotics and Technical Cybernetics (RTC), S. P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia (RSC "Energia") and the Yuri A. Gagarin State Scientific Researchand-Testing Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC). The DLR conducted two sets of experiments in which a cosmonaut on ISS used RJo to perform different tasks with robots located on-ground. The first set was conducted with a two DoF robot equipped with a camera system, a task board and torque sensors that allowed the cosmonaut to perceive forces caused by contacts with the environment. For the second set of experiments we used a humanoid robot to perform a tele-handshake and a cooperative task between the cosmonaut on ISS and colleagues at RTC in St. Petersburg.

Human teleoperation of robots and autonomous operations go hand in hand in many of todays service robots. While robot teleoperation is typically performed on low to medium levels of abstraction, automated planning has to take place on a higher abstraction level, i.e. by means of semantic reasoning. Accordingly, an abstract state of the world has to be maintained in order to enable an operator to switch seamlessly between both operational modes. We propose a novel approach that combines simulation-based geometric tracking and semantic state inference by means of so called State Inference Entities to overcome this issue. The system is demonstrated in real-world experiments conducted with the humanoid robot Rollin' Justin.