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Visiting Research Scientist
Robotics Institute
(Associate Professor,
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Kyoto University, Japan)
In this talk, I will first introduce my previous work on master-slave teleoperation systems. Master-slave system should be transparent to the operator; in other words, with an ideal master-slave system, the operator should be able to maneuver the system as if he/she were manipulating the remote objects directly himself/herself. However, most current systems are far from satisfactory. We have proposed a new bilateral control scheme which can realize the ideal responses. I implemented this control scheme in our experimental system.
Even if the master-slave system is transparent enough, it would be hard for the operator to do certain precise tasks and repetitive tasks. Cooperation between human operator and robotic autonomous functions would be a good solution. We built a human/robot cooperating system, with which the operator can change the operation mode intuitively and safely. A video demonstration will be shown.
Finally, I would like to introduce my current research project in C.M.U., developing visual/haptic interface to virtual environment. Haptic interface is much more difficult to develop rather than visual interface, because it requires physical connection between the user and the device and the haptic perception area is distributed over the entire surface of our hand and body.
Another problem is how to combine visual interface and haptic interface. Some of the haptic interface systems are equipped with visual display. However, the location where you can see your hand and the virtual object in the display is usually different from the location where you can feel the force via haptic interface. A new idea to solve above problems will be shown followed by preliminary demonstration.