Simplifying Robot Programming using Augmented Reality and End-User Development

Robots are widespread across diverse application contexts. Teaching robots to perform tasks, in their respective contexts, demands a high domain and programming expertise. However, robot programming faces high entry barriers due to the complexity of robot programming itself. Even for experts robot programming is a cumbersome and error-prone task where faulty robot programs can be created, causing damage when being executed on a real robot. To simplify the process of robot programming, we combine Augmented Reality (AR) with principles of end-user development. By combining them, the real environment is extended with useful virtual artifacts that can enable experts as well as non-professionals to perform complex robot programming tasks. Therefore, Simple Programming Environment in Augmented Reality with Enhanced Debugging (SPEARED) was developed as a prototype for an AR-assisted robot programming environment. SPEARED makes use of AR to project a robot as well as a programming environment onto the target working space. To evaluate our approach, expert interviews with domain experts from the area of industrial automation, robotics, and AR were performed. The experts agreed that SPEARED has the potential to enrich and ease current robot programming processes.