11th International Conference on Construction Applications of Virtual Reality, 2011 EXPERIENCES ON DESIGNING USER INTERFACES FOR A TELE-OPERATED CRANE Hung-Lin Chi, Ph.D. Student Department of Civil Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. hlchi@caece.net Yi-Chen Chen, Graduate Student Department of Civil Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. yichen@caece.net Shih-Chung Kang, Associate Professor Department of Civil Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. sckang@ntu.edu.tw Shang-Hsien Hsieh, Professor Department of Civil Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. shhsieh@ntu.edu.tw ABSTRACT: This research focuses on the design of the user interface for a tele-operated crane. Its major challenge is to overcome visibility and lack of degree of reality in tele-operations. We would like to explore the possibility to integrate augmented reality (AR) technology in the interface, providing real-time warnings to prevent unsafe operations. We conducted two studies to validate this idea. The first study was to evaluate the technical feasibility. We set up a small-scaled simulation site and equipped four cameras. We then developed a user interface with multiple views, which linked with the cameras and augmented reality modules. From the implementation, we found that the system can be executed in the real-time and have high potential to be applied in actual erections. The second study focused on the interaction with the users. We invited 30 users to conduct the tests. Results show that the use of a tele-operated interface with multiple views setting reduces completion time by 10% compared to a conventional interface while performing simulated erection tasks. The integration of AR improves safety, the number of collisions was reduced by 57%. This solution is ideal for improving the safety and efficiency of remote erection tasks. KEYWORDS: Augmented Reality, Path Planning, Attention-Based Design, Multiple Views. 1. INTRODUCTION Tele-operation technologies have been widely applied in diverse fields such as rescue missions, mining, and space exploration. During the last two decades, there has been much progress in the utilization of robotics and automation technologies in construction operations for further improving construction safety and productivity. A growing number of researchers have focused on studying the possibility of developing such intelligent and advanced construction equipment, and advanced robotics and automation technologies have been integrated into construction equipment in recent years. Golparvar-Fard et al. (2009) utilized augmented reality to monitor construction progress. Wang (2008) analyzed the applicability and user interfaces of mixed reality (MR) and augmented reality (AR) for construction equipment. Bernold (2007) constructed a tele-operated pipe manipulator and its control scheme for improving performance in laying pipes. Comparative field test results showed that the tele-operation method improved productivity and eliminated safety issues compared to traditional methods. In the future, an unmanned remote construction site can be possible with all human beings situated away from the construction site and construction tasks being completed by various construction avatars. With the increase in research effort focused on tele-operation applications for improving construction operations, the interface design of construction equipment remains an important topic for further study. Due to variation in operation functions and automation assistance with different construction equipment, the interface design can directly influence the efficiency and effectiveness with which operators can finish their tasks. Yokokohji et al. (2009) surveyed state-of-art robots for rescue missions and proposed design guidelines for the tele-operation interface, saying that the global view which covers the remote machine itself should always be included in the user interface for operators to monitor the overall situation while robots are working in challenging environments. This has also motivated further examination of the relationship between humans and tele-operated user