High Level Robot Programming Using Body and Hand Gestures

Robot programming software tools are expected to be more intuitive and user friendly. This paper proposes a method for simplifying industrial robot programming using visual sensors detecting the human motions. A vocabulary of body and hand gestures is defined, allowing the movement of robot in different directions. An external controller application is used for the transformation between human and robot motions. On the robot side, a decoder application is developed translating the human messages into robot motions. The method is integrated within an open communication architecture based on Robot Operating System (ROS), enabling thus the easy extensibility with new functionalities. An automotive industry case study demonstrated the method, including the commanding of a dual arm robot for single and bi-manual motions.