The Virtual Vision Lab: A Simulated/Real Environment For Interactive Education

The Virtual Vision Lab (VVL) is a project aimed at producing instructional lab modules for new and emerging techniques in robotic vision. VVL uses an integrated multi-media presentation format that allows the student to learn about robot vision techniques from textual sources, runtime algorithm codes, live and canned digital imagery, interactive modification of program parameters and insertion of student developed code for certain parts of the tutorial. It aims to translate a research paper in robot vision into a usable and understandable laboratory exercise that highlights the important aspects of the research in a realistic environment that combines both simulated virtual components and real camera imagery. The task the tutorial uses to demonstrate some basic principles of robotics and computer vision is the “pick and place task” which is implemented using a movable robot mounted camera that produces stereo imagery inside a robotic workcell.