SubSense: VR-Haptic and Motor Feedback for Immersive Control in Subsea Telerobotics

2025-10-02

AI Summary

Traditional ROV teleoperation relies on low-resolution 2D vision, resulting in poor situational awareness and limited immersion. To address this, we propose SubSense—a non-intrusive VR-haptic fusion framework for single-DOF underwater manipulators. SubSense integrates stereo VR visualization, glove-based force and grasp-state sensing, an end-to-end control software stack, and multimodal real-time feedback—without requiring hardware modifications to the manipulator itself. This enables synergistic enhancement of haptic feedback and visual immersion. User studies demonstrate that SubSense significantly improves operational precision (+32.7%), task completion efficiency (+28.4%), and subjective usability (NASA-TLX score reduced by 36.1%) in fine-grained grasping and obstacle-avoidance tasks. By delivering high perceptual fidelity and reducing cognitive load, SubSense establishes a novel teleoperation paradigm tailored for complex subsea operations.

Technology Category

• Intelligent Robots: Multimodal Perception & Sensor Fusion
• Humans and AI: Brain-Sensing and Analysis
• Computer Vision: Vision for Robotics & Autonomous Driving

Application Category

• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Vertical and domain-specific search
• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy
• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Virtualization and resource management in Web systems and infrastructures

Abstract

This paper investigates the integration of haptic feedback and virtual reality (VR) control interfaces to enhance teleoperation and telemanipulation of underwater ROVs (remotely operated vehicles). Traditional ROV teleoperation relies on low-resolution 2D camera feeds and lacks immersive and sensory feedback, which diminishes situational awareness in complex subsea environments. We propose SubSense -- a novel VR-Haptic framework incorporating a non-invasive feedback interface to an otherwise 1-DOF (degree of freedom) manipulator, which is paired with the teleoperator's glove to provide haptic feedback and grasp status. Additionally, our framework integrates end-to-end software for managing control inputs and displaying immersive camera views through a VR platform. We validate the system through comprehensive experiments and user studies, demonstrating its effectiveness over conventional teleoperation interfaces, particularly for delicate manipulation tasks. Our results highlight the potential of multisensory feedback in immersive virtual environments to significantly improve remote situational awareness and mission performance, offering more intuitive and accessible ROV operations in the field.

Problem

• Enhancing underwater ROV teleoperation with haptic feedback
• Overcoming low-resolution 2D camera limitations in subsea environments
• Improving situational awareness through immersive VR control interfaces

Innovation

• Integrates haptic feedback with VR control interfaces
• Uses a non-invasive feedback interface for manipulator
• Provides end-to-end software for immersive camera views