TELEPRESENT MASTER/SLAVE TOOLS WITH FORCE AND TACTILE FEEDBACK

THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE OF THE PHASE I WORK SHALL BE TO DESIGN AND FABRICATE TELEPRESENT MASTER/SLAVE (M/S) TOOLS CAPABLE OF PROVIDING FORCE AND TACTILE FEEDBACK TO THE HAND OF A HUMAN OPERATOR. THIS WORK SHALL INCORPORATE THE EXTENSIVE PREVIOUS DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES AT BEGEJ CORPORATION IN THE AREAS OF TACTILE SENSORS AND TACTILE DISPLAYS. THE SCOPE OF THE PHASE I WORK INCLUDES: (1) DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF MINIATURE, TOOL-MOUNTED FORCE/TORQUE (F/T) SENSORS CAPABLE OF MEASURING SIX COMPONENTS OF FORCE; (2) FABRICATION OF A HIGH-DENSITY OPTICAL TACTILE SENSOR FOR THE SLAVE TOOL HANDLE; (3); FABRICATION OF A 128-ELEMENT TACTILE DISPLAY FOR THE MASTER TOOL HANDLE, AND; (4) PRELIMINARY EVALUATION OF THE MASTER/SLAVE TOOLS. FOLLOW-ON WORK DURING PHASE II WOULD CONCERN: (1) THE IMPLEMENTATION OF FORCE FEEDBACK TO THE MASTER TOOL HOLDER BY A DEDICATED 6-DOF ROBOT ARM CONTROLLED BY THE F/T SENSORS ON THE TOOLS; (2) PERFORMANCE OF A MORE COMPLETE EVALUATION OF THE TELEPRESENT M/S TOOL CONCEPT USING A MODIFIED MECHANICAL M/S MANIPULATOR AND A THREE-FINGERED, FULLY-TELEPRESENT GLOVE CONTROLLER WITH ASSOCIATED ROBOT HAND (CURRENTLY UNDER DEVELOPMENT); AND (3) DESIGN, DEVELOP, AND FABRICATE SECOND-GENERATION TELEPRESENT M/S TOOL COMPONENTS FOR DELIVERY TO THE SPONSOR.