AUGMENTED REALITY MAINTENANCE SYSTEM EMPLOYING MANIPULATOR ARM WITH ARCHIVE AND COMPARISON DEVICE

An enhanced reality maintenance system for operating in a hazardous environment employs an environment modeler which creates a computer model of the environment. An environment renderer creates a plurality of images, each corresponding to a viewing location and orientation, `viewpoint`. A remotely operated manipulator arm is attached at a fixed end to a stationary structure, has a utility package, such as a video camera, attached to a distal end, and actuators which move the manipulator arm to desired locations within the environment. The position and orientation of the manipulator arm, are determined by a position and attitude (P&A) sensing unit. This information is passed to an manipulator arm renderer which creates an image from a prestored model of the manipulator arm, viewed from several different viewpoints. The may be interactively determined as an offset from the current position and orientation of the utility package. Alternative embodiments include an image archive and comparison unit capable of storing images linked to information of the image acquisition, retrieving stored images and transforming the images to match the image acquisition parameters. Also, another embodiment employs an automated positioner, which desired path information is provided by an operator. The environment, manipulator arm size, shape, and motion constraints, are analyzed to result in a trajectory which most closely fits the provided path information which would not cause a collision with structures in the environment. This trajectory, if acceptable, is then automatically executed by an automated positioner.