Using 3D visualization for remote supervision of robots is not unique to NASA. The Department of Defense (DOD) is interested in remote supervision of military robots for surveillance and reconnaissance. 3D visualization of robots for military operations includes supervising multiple robots operating concurrently to accomplish a military objective. In such multi-robot operations, it is essential to shift the user's focus when another robot outside the current field of view requires attention. Thus the proposed technology for notification should be directly applicable to remote supervision of military robots. The separation of notice construction from notice presentation should ease integration of the notification software with whatever 3D visualization software is used by the military. Since the military is actively funding research on human attention shifting and visual de-cluttering of geospatial displays, the proposed approach should be both interesting to a variety of DOD customers and compatible with military robotic operations. NASA has demonstrated in recent analog robotic field tests that 3D visualization is effective for remote supervision of a planetary robot. 3D visualization, however, focuses the controller's attention on what is happening in the vicinity of the robot. The proposed notification technology improves existing 3D visualization by addressing the issue of notifying users about information that may not be spatially linked to the current view. The notification software produced in Phase II will be immediately useful for future analog robotic field tests where VERVE provides 3D robot visualization. Our separation of notice construction from notice presentation should ease integration of the notification software with other 3D visualization software that NASA might use in the future. Longer term, the techniques for determining when to shift the user's attention from the visualization and how to notify without increasing visual clutter should be useful when specifying flight support software for remote robotic operations.
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