Virtual Reality-based Human-Robot Interaction for Remote Pick-and-Place Tasks

Virtual Reality (VR) has emerged as a promising medium, enhancing human-robot interaction by offering a more immersive and intuitive interface. This paper presents a novel approach utilizing VR, particularly the Meta Quest 2 device, as an interface for remote control of a robot performing a pick-and-place task in a proxy data center environment. A user interface was created in VR, enabling users to control the Fetch Mobile Manipulator robot and monitor its pose for secure and safe remote operation. This work integrates virtual reality, computer vision, and human-robot interaction methodologies. The system demonstrates the effectiveness of this VR-based human-robot interaction approach, showcasing its potential to enhance productivity and safety in industrial applications involving remote robot control.