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Motion Comparator: Visual Comparison of Robot Motions

Yeping Wang, Alexander Peseckis, Zelong Jiang, Michael Gleicher

TL;DR

Motion Comparator addresses the need for visual comparison of robot motions beyond scalar metrics by offering a web-based, multi-view tool that unifies traces in Cartesian, joint, and quaternion spaces with time-warp alignment. The approach combines a literature-guided design process, diverse visualization techniques (traces, 3D scenes, time-series, UMAP), and synchronized, shareable workspaces to support motion understanding, selection, and communication. Key contributions include a requirements-driven design framework, integration of juxtaposition, superposition, and explicit encoding designs, and four real-world case studies demonstrating practical benefits for planning, debugging, tuning, and teleoperation. The work advances robotic visualization by enabling coordinated, time-aware comparison of motions and providing ROS-friendly, collaborative workflows through a downloadable, open-source platform.

Abstract

Roboticists compare robot motions for tasks such as parameter tuning, troubleshooting, and deciding between possible motions. However, most existing visualization tools are designed for individual motions and lack the features necessary to facilitate robot motion comparison. In this paper, we utilize a rigorous design framework to develop Motion Comparator, a web-based tool that facilitates the comprehension, comparison, and communication of robot motions. Our design process identified roboticists' needs, articulated design challenges, and provided corresponding strategies. Motion Comparator includes several key features such as multi-view coordination, quaternion visualization, time warping, and comparative designs. To demonstrate the applications of Motion Comparator, we discuss four case studies in which our tool is used for motion selection, troubleshooting, parameter tuning, and motion review.

Motion Comparator: Visual Comparison of Robot Motions

TL;DR

Motion Comparator addresses the need for visual comparison of robot motions beyond scalar metrics by offering a web-based, multi-view tool that unifies traces in Cartesian, joint, and quaternion spaces with time-warp alignment. The approach combines a literature-guided design process, diverse visualization techniques (traces, 3D scenes, time-series, UMAP), and synchronized, shareable workspaces to support motion understanding, selection, and communication. Key contributions include a requirements-driven design framework, integration of juxtaposition, superposition, and explicit encoding designs, and four real-world case studies demonstrating practical benefits for planning, debugging, tuning, and teleoperation. The work advances robotic visualization by enabling coordinated, time-aware comparison of motions and providing ROS-friendly, collaborative workflows through a downloadable, open-source platform.

Abstract

Roboticists compare robot motions for tasks such as parameter tuning, troubleshooting, and deciding between possible motions. However, most existing visualization tools are designed for individual motions and lack the features necessary to facilitate robot motion comparison. In this paper, we utilize a rigorous design framework to develop Motion Comparator, a web-based tool that facilitates the comprehension, comparison, and communication of robot motions. Our design process identified roboticists' needs, articulated design challenges, and provided corresponding strategies. Motion Comparator includes several key features such as multi-view coordination, quaternion visualization, time warping, and comparative designs. To demonstrate the applications of Motion Comparator, we discuss four case studies in which our tool is used for motion selection, troubleshooting, parameter tuning, and motion review.
Paper Structure (27 sections, 3 figures, 2 tables)

This paper contains 27 sections, 3 figures, 2 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Related Works
  3. Robot Visualization Tools
  4. Motion Visualization
  5. Motion Visual Comparison
  6. Problem Overview
  7. Design Process
  8. Comparative Needs
  9. Comparative Challenges and Strategies
  10. Comparative Designs
  11. Multi-View Interface
  12. 3D Scene
  13. Quaternion Space
  14. Time-Series Plots
  15. Joint Trace
  16. ...and 12 more sections

Figures (3)

  • Figure 1: Screenshot of Motion Comparator showing its multiple panels. Its customizable layout allows users to tailor the interface for various workflows. 3D Scene with a position trace quaternion space time-series plot UMAP graph timeline bar motion library that shows loaded robot motions option panels to change preferences.
  • Figure 2: Motion Comparator offers five views to visualization robot motions, including 3D scene (A), quaternion space (B), UMAP graph (C), time-series plot (D), and timeline bar (E). These views incorporate the comparative strategies in \ref{['sec:challenges']}, including position trace (A1), quaternion trace (B), joint trace (C), and temporal alignments (D4, E1, E2). These views also incorporate comparative designs, including juxtaposition, superposition, and explicit encoding.
  • Figure 3: Visualizations for case studies in \ref{['sec:case_studies']}.