A novel interface for device diagnostics using speech recognition, augmented reality visualization, and 3D audio auralization

Routine maintenance and error diagnostics of technical devices can be greatly enhanced by applying multimedia technology. The Rockwell Science Center is developing a system which can indicate maintenance instructions or diagnosis results for a device directly into the view of the user by utilizing augmented reality and multimedia techniques. The system can overlay 3D rendered objects, animations, and text annotations onto the live video image of a known object, captured by a movable camera. The status of device components can be queried by the user through a speech recognition system. The response is given as an animation of the relevant device module, overlaid onto the real object into the user´s view, and/or as auditory cues using spatialized 3D audio. The position of the user/camera relative to the device is tracked by a computer vision based tracking system. The diagnostics system also allows the user to leave spoken annotations attached to device modules for other users to retrieve. The system is implemented on a distributed network of PCs, utilizing standard commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components