DEVELOPMENT OF AN EXOSKELETON ARM MASTER FOR ROBOT CONTROL

IN THIS PROJECT, A MASTER WILL BE DEVELOPED THAT CONSISTS OF A 20-DEGREE-OF-FREEDOM HAND, A 2-DEGREE-OF-FREEDOM WRIST,AND A 5-DEGREE-OF-FREEDOM ARM. THIS DEVICE WILL ALLOW A HUMAN TO CONTROL A DEXTEROUS ROBOT IN A MASTER-SLAVE OR TEACH-PLAYBACK MODE TO ASSIST IN DEVELOPING AUTONOMOUS ROBOTIC MANIPULATION STRATEGIES. THE WORK WILL INTEGRATE TWO EXISTING PRODUCTS, THE DEXTEROUS HAND MASTER (DHM) AND THE GRIPMASTER (GM) WITH AN ARM EXOSKELETON TO BE DEVELOPED DURING THIS PROJECT. THE ARM EXOSKELETON WILL INCORPORATE SENSING AND MECHANICAL ELEMENTS SIMILAR TO THAT USED IN THE DHM AND GM. EXISTING DHM AND GM ELECTRONICS ANDSOFTWARE WILL BE MODIFIED TO ACCOMMODATE THE COMPLETE SYSTEM. IN NASA APPLICATIONS, THE RESULTING SYSTEM WILL PROVIDE A NATURAL METHOD FOR A CREWPERSON IN ZERO-G TO CONTROL A MULTI-DEGREE-OF-FREEDOM DEXTEROUS ROBOT WITH MINIMAL RESTRAINTS. THE TECHNOLOGY WILL ALSO BE APPLICABLE TO MEDIAL MEASUREMENT PROBLEMS INCLUDING DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF INJURIES FROM REPETITIVE MOTIONS AND SPORTS. AREDUCED DEGREE-OF-FREEDOM VERSION WILL ALSO BE USED IN DETERMINING THE SOURCES OF CUMULATIVE TRAUMA DISORDERS IN WORKERS AND IN DESIGNING TASKS AND TOOLS TO PREVENT THESE INJURIES IN THE FUTURE. IN THIS PROJECT, A MASTER WILL BE DEVELOPED THAT CONSISTS OF A 20-DEGREE-OF-FREEDOM HAND, A 2-DEGREE-OF-FREEDOM WRIST,AND A 5-DEGREE-OF-FREEDOM ARM. THIS DEVICE WILL ALLOW A HUMAN TO CONTROL A DEXTEROUS ROBOT IN A MASTER-SLAVE OR TEACH-PLAYBACK MODE TO ASSIST IN DEVELOPING AUTONOMOUS ROBOTIC MANIPULATION STRATEGIES. THE WORK WILL INTEGRATE TWO EXISTING PRODUCTS, THE DEXTEROUS HAND MASTER (DHM) AND THE GRIPMASTER (GM) WITH AN ARM EXOSKELETON TO BE DEVELOPED DURING THIS PROJECT. THE ARM EXOSKELETON WILL INCORPORATE SENSING AND MECHANICAL ELEMENTS SIMILAR TO THAT USED IN THE DHM AND GM. EXISTING DHM AND GM ELECTRONICS ANDSOFTWARE WILL BE MODIFIED TO ACCOMMODATE THE COMPLETE SYSTEM. IN NASA APPLICATIONS, THE RESULTING SYSTEM WILL PROVIDE A NATURAL METHOD FOR A CREWPERSON IN ZERO-G TO CONTROL A MULTI-DEGREE-OF-FREEDOM DEXTEROUS ROBOT WITH MINIMAL RESTRAINTS. THE TECHNOLOGY WILL ALSO BE APPLICABLE TO MEDIAL MEASUREMENT PROBLEMS INCLUDING DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF INJURIES FROM REPETITIVE MOTIONS AND SPORTS. AREDUCED DEGREE-OF-FREEDOM VERSION WILL ALSO BE USED IN DETERMINING THE SOURCES OF CUMULATIVE TRAUMA DISORDERS IN WORKERS AND IN DESIGNING TASKS AND TOOLS TO PREVENT THESE INJURIES IN THE FUTURE.