Development of Wide-Angle Vision System for Remote Navigation of Planetary Exploring Rover

—Accuracy Evaluation Method of Camera View Direction Control using Eye-Tracking Device—

Abstract

Wide-Angle Fovea Vision Sensor (WAFVS) system, inspired by the functionality of the human eye, was designed and developed to allow single vision sensors to be used for multiple purposes. The authors think that the WAFVS system is suitable for use in planetary exploring rovers, because one of severe problems in the vision systems of rovers, UAVs and satellites involves the management of payloads. This paper describes the multi-purpose utilization of the WAFVS system, which includes the following tasks: (1) observing the environment displayed to the operator to allow the remote navigation of the rover, (2) recording images of important scenes by changing the view direction of the WAFVS, and (3) monitoring whether the instruments on the rover work correctly. Moreover, this paper includes experiments and discusses a technique to display images to the operator when an eye-tracking device is applied as a target coordinate input device, in order to assist the operator with their tasks. An accuracy index, i.e., a measurement error of a target, is defined in order to evaluate the performance of a combination that incorporates the vision sensor, the coordinate input device, and the image display method.