Mapping and visualization interface for information in disaster

Abstract

Many rescue robots are developed for search and rescue missions in the disaster area. The rescue robots gather the information in the disaster area using sensors. Gathered information is managed by GIS (Geographic Information System) as an environment map. There are two major problems to gather the information from disaster area by using mobile robots. One is the unstable communication between operator station and disaster area, and the other is the inaccurate estimation of robots' position. In this study, we developed two new human interface systems to gather necessary information preferentially using a virtual 3D environment on demand and adjust the position errors of a robot intuitively. Furthermore simulation is carried out to validate the usability of the proposed interface by comparing with an existing interface.