UNIVERSAL BILATERAL ROBOTIC CONTROLLER

TELEOPERATOR SYSTEMS ARE DISTINGUISHED FROM OTHER TYPES OF ROBOTIC SYSTEMS BY THE ACTIVE PARTICIPATION OF A HUMAN OPERATOR DURING SYSTEM FUNCTIONING. IN CASES WHERE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CAN ALLOW THE PARTIAL REMOVAL OF MAN FROM THE LOOP, IT IS STILL DESIRABLE TO HAVE A FULLY FUNCTIONAL HUMAN TELEOPERATOR BACK-UP SYSTEM. IN THIS WORK, WE PROPOSE TO DEVELOP A UNIVERSAL BILATERAL ROBOTIC CONTROLLER FOR THE TELEOPERATION OF ROBOTIC MANIPULATORS. THIS SYSTEM IS COMPOSED OF THE FOLLOWING SUBSYSTEMS: BILATERAL MANUAL CONTROLLER (JOYSTICK), COMMUNICATIONS HARDWARE, AND MAPPING SOFTWARE. THE PHASE I STUDY IS TO IDENTIFY INNOVATIVE DESIGNS OF A COUNTERBALANCED, LIGHTWEIGHT, AND COMPACT JOYSTICK THAT PROVIDES FORCE FEEDBACK TO THE HUMAN OPERATOR. NEW MAPPING TECHNIQUES ARE TO BE INVESTIGATED TO PROVIDE THE OPERATOR WITH A TRANSPARENT INTERFACE. PHASE II AND III STUDIES ARE TO INCLUDE THE FABRICATION OF THE UNIVERSAL BILATERAL ROBOTIC CONTROLLER SYSTEM. THE SYSTEM IS TO BE TESTED USING SEVERAL COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE MANIPULATORS.