Development and comparison studies of XR interfaces for path definition in remote welding scenarios

The recent pandemic and associated hybrid work culture reignites the importance of extended reality (XR) technologies for remote collaboration across the world. As different ranges of automation are introduced in the industry with an increasing focus on digitalization, safety, and productivity, it is important to understand the context and physiological metrics of existing human operators. This paper describes the implementation of a virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) interface of a welding process and compares operators’ performance using such technologies. Initially, MR and VR were compared with respect to a pointing task followed by a welding task involving trajectory definition and actual robotic arm movement. A plethora of parameters involving ocular data, Electroencephalography (EEG), hand movement, subjective opinion and quantitative measures were recorded and analyzed. The results of physiological parameters such as EEG based Task Load Index, Task Engagement Index, ocular fixation rate and average fixation duration indicated that the VR interaction involved higher levels of engagement, lower mental processing load and distinct visual processing mechanisms in the optical cortex compared to the MR interaction. Similar comparison trends observed in these parameters across both tasks confirmed the reproducibility of the experiment methodology and results. Results from the study can be used in terms of selecting rendering media for other immersive applications such as teleoperation, path planning and navigation scenarios in multiple domains such as manufacturing, robotics, healthcare, and education. The results were used to develop a multi-modal VR interface with a novel collision-based weld path definition method suitable for industrial deployment.

In Multimedia Tools and Applications