AR in VR: Augmented Reality Cues in 360-Degree Stereoscopic Telepresence for Remote Collaboration and Maintenance

Abstract

Remote maintenance and collaboration applications are getting more interest with the development of mixed reality technologies. The combination of 360° telepresence and augmented reality (AR) cues has been proven to be an effective way of remote collaboration. However, most existing methods do not provide depth perception which can improve the remote inspection. Also, many methods that use AR cues for live collaboration are limited with only pointing functionality. In this paper, we present a 360° telepresence system interacting with an AR-backend to create an immersive mixed reality interface for remote collaboration. The proposed camera system does not need to be carried by any on-site person, but can be controlled by the remote operator itself. We deploy network delay compensation methods and propose novel projection strategies for a correct and efficient rendering. A comparative analysis shows advantages of the proposed system over previous work and that it is a promising approach for improving remote collaboration and maintenance.