UniRoVE: Unified Robot Virtual Environment Framework

Abstract

Robotics applications are becoming nowadays increasingly important in people’s daily lives. However, the process of learning and training in robotics is not always easy. In fact, in most cases, proper training is linked to direct interaction with these devices. This is usually not possible for the vast majority of people, as they may not have access to a robot in their teaching/learning institutions or companies. Nevertheless, thanks to the emergence of different technologies such as Virtual Reality it is possible to do physical tasks in a virtual environment that were considered unimaginable just one decade before. Therefore, this project aims to make the most of both technologies, creating an alternative way of interacting with robots to understand their behaviour, while flattening the robotics learning curve. To this end, a framework that allows the simulation and control of various robots in Virtual Reality has been developed and qualitatively assessed with an user satisfaction study.