System architecture for versatile autonomous and teleoperated control of multiple miniature robots

Using robots for surveillance and reconnaissance applications requires a versatile connection between the human operator and robotic hardware. Some application domains require a fully teleoperated system while others may benefit by giving robots more autonomy. This paper describes a robotic control architecture which merges both paradigms. The whole scheme is implemented using the miniature Scout robot and involves a suite of user interfaces that can be tailored to specific surveillance and reconnaissance missions. Hardware capabilities are presented and a visual servoing strategy, important for semi-autonomous Scout operation, is discussed.