Methods and systems for modifying a display of a field of view of a robotic device to include zoomed-in and zoomed-out views

1. A method comprising:

determining a distance of a moving robotic device to an object in a field of view of the robotic device, wherein the distance changes over time as the robotic device is in motion;

determining a speed of movement of the robotic device;

as the distance to the object in the field of view decreases, determining a modified field of view of the robotic device that includes a zoomed-in view of the object based on the distance to the object in the field of view and further based on the speed of movement of the robotic device; and

as the distance to the object in the field of view increases, determining a modified field of view of the robotic device that includes a zoomed-out view of the object based on the distance to the object in the field of view and further based on the speed of movement of the robotic device.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

generating a display of the field of view of the robotic device, wherein the display of the field of view of the robotic device includes a streaming display;

determining that the robotic device is moving closer to the object;

determining a gradual increase to a size of the object in the display, wherein the gradual increase is proportional to a speed of movement of the robotic device; and

generating the streaming display of the field of view of the robotic device including the gradual increase to the size of the object.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining a zoom level of the field of view of the robotic device based on the distance; and

generating a display of the field of view of the robotic device to depict the object according to the zoom level, wherein the zoom level is indicative of a size at which to depict the object.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein determining the zoom level of the field of view of the robotic device comprises determining the zoom level to be configured such that the size of the object is about 50% to 65% of the display.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

making a determination whether to generate a display of the field of view of the robotic device to include the zoomed-in view of the object based on an environment in which the robotic device resides;

based on the determination, generating the display of the field of view of the robotic device.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining that a number of objects are within the field of view of the robotic device, wherein the number of objects is over a threshold number; and

when the distance of the robotic device to the object is less than a threshold distance and the number of objects is over the threshold number, determining a modified field of view of the robotic device to include the zoomed-in view of the object.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining that a number of objects are within the field of view of the robotic device;

determining distances of the robotic device to at least some of the number of objects in the field of view of the robotic device; and

based on the distances of the robotic device to the at least some of the number of objects, determining a modified field of view of the robotic device to include zoomed-in views of the at least some of the number of objects.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the distance of the robotic device to the object in the field of view of the robotic device comprises receiving information associated with outputs from distance sensors positioned on the robotic device.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method is performed by the robotic device.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method is performed by a server.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

generating a display of the field of view of the robotic device; and

providing the display to a graphical user interface on a device positioned remotely from the robotic device.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising providing in the display a scale marker that is indicative of a zoom level of the display of the object in the field of view.

13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining that the distance has decreased a threshold amount, and then determining a modified field of view of the robotic device that includes a zoomed-in view of the object.

14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

generating a display of the field of view of the robotic device; and

digitally adjusting a zoom of the display of the field of view of the robotic device based on the distance.

15. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining that the field of view includes information associated with a given object that corresponds to predefined information, wherein the predefined information includes information associated with one or more of an obstacle, a geographic location, a position of the robotic device, a predefined object, a person, and a recognized person; and

responsively determining a modified field of view of the robotic device to include a zoomed-in view of the given object.

16. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions executable by a computing device to cause the computing device to perform functions comprising:

determining a distance of a moving robotic device to an object in a field of view of the robotic device, wherein the distance changes over time as the robotic device is in motion;

determining a speed of movement of the robotic device;

as the distance to the object in the field of view decreases, determining a modified field of view of the robotic device that includes a zoomed-in view of the object based on the distance to the object in the field of view and further based on the speed of movement of the robotic device; and

as the distance to the object in the field of view increases, determining a modified field of view of the robotic device that includes a zoomed-out view of the object based on the distance to the object in the field of view and further based on the speed of movement of the robotic device.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16 , further comprising instructions executable by the computing device to cause the computing device to perform functions comprising:

generating a display of the field of view of the robotic device;

providing the display to a graphical user interface on a device positioned remotely from the robotic device, wherein the graphical user interface includes control icons operable to control functions of the robotic device; and

providing in the display a scale marker that is indicative of a zoom level of the display of the object in the field of view.

18. A device comprising:

a processor; and

memory including instructions stored therein executable by the processor to perform functions comprising:

determining a distance of a moving robotic device to an object in a field of view of the robotic device, wherein the distance changes over time as the robotic device is in motion,

determining a speed of movement of the robotic device,

as the distance to the object in the field of view decreases, determining a modified field of view of the robotic device that includes a zoomed-in view of the object based on the distance to the object in the field of view and further based on the speed of movement of the robotic device, and

as the distance to the object in the field of view increases, determining a modified field of view of the robotic device that includes a zoomed-out view of the object based on the distance to the object in the field of view and further based on the speed of movement of the robotic device.

19. The device of claim 18 , wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to perform functions comprising:

generating a display of the field of view of the robotic device, wherein the display includes a streaming display;

based on the speed of movement of the robotic device, determining a gradual increase to a size of the object in the display, wherein the gradual increase is proportional to the speed of movement of the robotic device; and

generating the streaming display of the field of view of the robotic device including the gradual increase to the size of the object.

20. The device of claim 18 , wherein an amount of zoom of the object is inversely proportional to the distance, such that as the distance decreases the zoom increases, and as the distance increases the zoom decreases.