TORSO: Development of a Telexistence Visual System Using a 6-d.o.f. Robot Head

In telexistence master–slave systems, it is important to transmit visual information from remote places to the operator. Conventional imaging devices in head-mounted displays (HMDs) can only express the three-axis rotation of the neck. However, humans can obtain broader visual fields and motion parallax information from the translational motion of their necks. We have proposed a system that can acquire natural and comfortable visual information, and can accurately track the head motion of a person. Our proposed device can express the head motion and the translation movements of the neck. We have developed a robot, called 'TORSO', and constructed a telexistence visual system with a display device, HMD. In this paper, by means of a broader field of view achieved by motion involving looking around, we demonstrate the advantage and novelty of our proposed system. In addition, we suggest the evolution of the TORSO–HMD system.     

Intelligent manipulator system with nonsymmetric and redundant master-slave

Some work is so complicated and unsteady that it is not possible to use automatic robots, such as FA robots. In such a case, a teleoperated manipulation system is applied. In this research, the authors aim at a reduction in the operator's physical and mental burdens. An artificially intelligent manipulator system has been developed with nonsymmetric and redundant master-slave. This system has five features: (1) a polar coordinates master arm; (2) a highly operational articulated slave arm with 7 degrees of freedom; (3) a nonsymmetric configuration and different degrees of freedom master-slave control; (4) an expert system; and (5) a new master-slave control motion, which makes the operator's task easier with automatic force/position control. The system was experimentally produced and its performance tested and evaluated. A qualitative evaluation was carried out by conducting a comparative test on the conventional master-slave control and the new master-slave control. It was found to be effective in reducing operating time, as well as work-induced fatigue.     

High-fidelity bilateral teleoperation systems and the effect of multimodal haptics.

In master-slave teleoperation applications that deal with a delicate and sensitive environment, it is important to provide haptic feedback of slave/environment interactions to the user's hand as it improves task performance and teleoperation transparency (fidelity), which is the extent of telepresence of the remote environment available to the user through the master-slave system. For haptic teleoperation, in addition to a haptics-capable master interface, often one or more force sensors are also used, which warrant new bilateral control architectures while increasing the cost and the complexity of the teleoperation system. In this paper, we investigate the added benefits of using force sensors that measure hand/master and slave/environment interactions and of utilizing local feedback loops on the teleoperation transparency. We compare the two-channel and the four-channel bilateral control systems in terms of stability and transparency, and study the stability and performance robustness of the four-channel method against nonidealities that arise during bilateral control implementation, which include master-slave communication latency and changes in the environment dynamics. The next issue addressed in the paper deals with the case where the master interface is not haptics capable, but the slave is equipped with a force sensor. In the context of robotics-assisted soft-tissue surgical applications, we explore through human factors experiments whether slave/environment force measurements can be of any help with regard to improving task performance. The last problem we study is whether slave/environment force information, with and without haptic capability in the master interface, can help improve outcomes under degraded visual conditions.     

'Toy problem' as the benchmark test for teleoperation systems

A unified hand/arm master–slave system was developed to conduct dexterous tasks by teleoperation. Both the master and the slave consist of a two-fingered hand and a 3-d.o.f. planer manipulator. The system is also aimed at investigating the bottleneck of autonomous robotic manipulation systems. To evaluate the performance of individual teleoperation systems all over the world under equal conditions, we propose toy block assembling (LEGO® blocks) as the benchmark test for teleoperation systems. Using our hand/arm master-slave system, we announce the measured completion time for assembling some block structures, expecting other research group to try the same task in the future.     

Manoeuvrability of a master-slave manipulator with different configurations and its evaluation tests

^_Recently, much research on master-slave manipulators with different configurations (MSM-DC) has been conducted, but the manoeuvrability between different structural arms has not been sufficiently discussed. Thus, an MSM-DC with six degrees of freedom (DOF) using an orthogonal-type master arm has been developed and its manoeuvrability has been studied with the aid of some basic experiments. The results were as follows: (1) the MSM-DC can be operated as easily as a conventional MSM that uses a replica master arm; (2) the slave arm position and the reflecting force of the master arm are correctly generated by coordinate transformation between the slave arm and the master ann; (3) the master-slave mode is suitable for performing a fine task, compared with the joystick mode; and (4) the function of changing the transformation point, which is newly proposed, from the master arm to the slave arm is effective in carrying out a task which has a revolving point. In addition, quantitative evaluation of the manoeuvrability of an MSM was investigated using a pattern trace.     

An experimental remote handling system

An experimental robotic remote handling system is described which has been constructed in order to investigate various engineering problems in advanced remote handling such as the man-machine interface, system control and communication. The device consists of a mobile and a control station. The mobile station comprises an electrical manipulator having seven degrees of freedom, a TV camera, a control sub-computer, a servo-control unit, radio transmitters and receivers, batteries, etc., which are mounted on a crawler-type vehicle. The control station is equipped with the master arm of the manipulator, radio transmitters and receivers, a TV monitor, a main control computer and its peripheral devices, etc. The manipulator can be operated in either a master-slave, a playback or a programmed control mode with the assistance of control computers. Communication between the mobile and the control stations is made using optical fibres or a radio link.     

壁面爬行遥控检查机器人控制系统的研制

本文介绍壁面爬行遥控检查机器人控制系统，该控制系统采用二级计算机控制。二极计算机之间采用光缆进行通讯，主计算机采有工业级ＰＣ总线计算机，从计算机采用ＳＴＤ总线计算机，主计算机能够对控制系统中的其他部分及视觉系统，检查系统和支持系统的行为进行协调和管理。     

基于腹腔微创手术机器人的主从控制技术研究

根据机器人辅助腹腔微创手术任务的特点,采用高性能工业计算机为平台,构建以PCI总线方式通讯、功能可扩展的硬件结构,设计手术机器人主从控制系统.针对传统的基于运动学反变换法的主从控制存在超越函数和存在多解而影响主从响应速度的问题,基于等效微分变换法,提出适合于术机器人的实时主从摔制算法.设计了适合手术机器人实时主从控制的...     

外骨骼式遥操作主手设计及主从异构映射算法研究

为了更好地促进机器人适应复杂的遥操作任务,开发了能够精确获取人体上肢运动信息的外骨骼式遥操作主手,并通过异构映射算法,实现对6自由度协作机械臂的遥操作．首先,基于人体仿生结构,设计了可穿戴式8自由度外骨骼主手（臂部7自由度和手部1自由度）;其次,通过改进的D-H（Denavit-Hartenberg）方法建立遥操作系统的运动学模型,基于Matlab的机器人工具箱进行了工作空间仿真,并设计主从异构映射算法;最后,实验验证外骨骼主手在遥操作系统中的可操作性,以及工作空间异构映射算法的可行性．实验表明,外骨骼主手能够控制从端机械手臂,且保证末端位置和姿态一致,可在大范围工作空间内复现人体上肢精细运动,主从跟随误差达2 mm,工作空间类似于直径1.08 m的半球形．因此,可穿戴式的外骨骼主手使操作者能更加直观地参与到遥操作系统当中,辅助操作者更加高效地完成精细复杂任务．     

Construction Methodology for a Remote Ultrasound Diagnostic System

In the present paper, we describe a method for constructing a remote ultrasound diagnostic system. Remote diagnosis can be realized using a communication network. We have developed a master–slave type remote medical system to diagnose shoulder diseases, such as dialysis-related amyloid arthropathy (DRAA), by ultrasonographic images. Proper positioning, orientation, and contact force between the ultrasound probe and the affected area of the patient are required in order to acquire proper diagnostic images. Safety and manipulability are also required when operating the remote medical system through a communication network. Therefore, the system has impedance control capability for positioning of the master and slave manipulators in order to convey the contact force and enhance manipulability. In addition, the system has continuous-path control capability for the orientation of the slave manipulator in order to realize smooth and accurate motion of the ultrasound probe, even if the sampling rate of the transmission of the orientation data of the master manipulator is not sufficient. The results of remote diagnostic experiments demonstrated that a healthcare professional could diagnose real patients through a communication network using the constructed system.      

Stability guaranteed teleoperation: an adaptive motion/force control approach

An adaptive motion/force controller is developed for unilateral or bilateral teleoperation systems. The method can be applied in both position and rate control modes, with arbitrary motion or force scaling. No acceleration measurements are required. Nonlinear rigid-body dynamics of the master and the slave robots are considered. A model of the flexible or rigid environment is incorporated into the dynamics of the slave, while a model of the human operator is incorporated into the dynamics of the master. The master and the slave are subject to independent adaptive motion/force controllers that assume parameter uncertainty bounds. Each parameter is independently updated within its known lower and upper bounds. The states of the master (slave) are sent to the slave (master) as motion/force tracking commands instead of control actions (efforts and/or flows). Under the modeling assumptions for the human operator and the environment, the proposed teleoperation control scheme is L/sub 2/ and L/sub /spl infin// stable in both free motion and flexible or rigid contact motion and is robust against time delays. The controlled master-slave system behaves essentially as a linearly damped free-floating mass. If the parameter estimates converge, the environment impedance and the impedance transmitted to the master differ only by a control-parameter dependent mass/damper term. Asymptotic motion (velocity/position) tracking and force tracking with zero steady-state error are achieved. Experimental results are presented in support of the analysis.     

主——从分布式控制系统通信机制与性能的关系

建立主－从分布式多机系统的随机Ｐｅｔｒｉ网模型，并用此模型分析系统性能。揭示了系统性能与主、从机之间通信机制的选择有关：当主、从之间“进入通信”变迁速率较地，处理机平均利用率较高，对不同类型的主－从多机系统宜于选择何种通信方式作了一定探讨，并指出对于实时监控系统，宜采用主机向下查询方式进行通信。     

电控发动机ECU中的SPI主从式多节点通信设计

分析了电控发动机ECU的控制芯片与外围芯片的通信需求,应用F28035设计出一种SPI主从式多节点通信结构。在SPI硬件设计中,F28035作为主设备,EEPROM、TLE8209、CJ125等器件为从设备,构成主从式通信网络,其中F28035通过译码器选定器件。根据具体芯片特性进行SPI工作模式配置与读写驱动程序编写,在内部开发的双燃料发动机ECU上成功运行,完成通信和诊断等工作。     

基于DSP的微位移驱动器控制系统串行通信技术的实现

介绍TMS320F2812DSP异步串行通信模块(SCI)功能特征的基础上,针对自行开发的微位移驱动器控制系统结构和通信的要求,从事以PC微机为上位机、DSP为下位机的主从式控制系统串行通信技术的研究,探讨串行通信接口的硬件实现技术,开发相关的串行通讯软件,并通过具体通信实例进行了验证,表明所提出的方法简单有效,满足控制系统的要求.     

A Composite State Convergence Scheme for Bilateral Teleoperation Systems

State convergence is a novel control algorithm for bilateral teleoperation of robotic systems. First, it models the teleoperation system on state space and considers all the possible interactions between the master and slave systems. Second, it presents an elegant design procedure which requires a set of equations to be solved in order to compute the control gains of the bilateral loop. These design conditions are obtained by turning the master-slave error into an autonomous system and imposing the desired dynamic behavior of the teleoperation system. Resultantly, the convergence of master and slave states is achieved in a well-defined manner. The present study aims at achieving a similar convergence behavior offered by state convergence controller while reducing the number of variables sent across the communication channel. The proposal suggests transmitting composite master and slave variables instead of full master and slave states while keeping the operator’s force channel intact. We show that, with these composite and force variables; it is indeed possible to achieve the convergence of states in a desired way by strictly following the method of state convergence. The proposal leads to a reduced complexity state convergence algorithm which is termed as composite state convergence controller. In order to validate the proposed scheme in the absence and presence of communication time delays, MATLAB simulations and semi-real time experiments are performed on a single degree-of-freedom teleoperation system.      

大时延遥操作系统的波变量双边自适应控制

针对通信时延对遥操作系统稳定性和透明性的影响,研究了一种基于双边自适应控制和波变量理论的控制方法。通过设计波控制器保证通信传输模块的无源性,在保证系统稳定的基础上,调节波阻抗系数来提高系统的透明性,并在时延10 s的情况下进行主从端速度、位置和力的跟踪仿真实验,结果表明该方法和已有的双边自适应方法相比既能保证系统稳定且透明性好,达到较好的控制效果。     

基于无线模块PTR8000的智能输液控制系统设计

随着物联网技术的不断完善,无线通信技术在医疗卫生领域的应用越来越广泛.针对这一现状,设计了一种基于光电传感器技术、单片机技术及无线通信技术的智能输液控制系统.系统采用主从控制结构,分别由AT89S52单片机控制.从站实现液滴监测、步进电机对输液滴速的控制、LCD液晶屏显示及输液异常及输液完毕声光报警,并通过无线模块PTR8000实现监测数据发射功能;主站实现数据无线接收并将数据通过USB传输至PC机.     

基于RS485总线的遥控机器人通讯系统设计和实现

针对主从机器人的操作控制的需要,本文设计了一个基于RS-485总线的遥控机器人通讯.该系统以两片AT89S52单片机分别作为上下位机核心CPU,还包括了MAX485通讯模块和数据显示模块等硬件,并通过软件编程实现了上下位机的通讯.本文对上述硬件构成进行了详细的介绍,并给出了通讯系统的软件,满足了机器人通讯的要求.     

基于RS485总线的起落架控制系统实时通信算法实现

以AG600水陆两栖飞机的起落架系统综合试验平台为基础,针对多路传感器信息采集与传输、主备单元之间信息重构、逻辑解算和驱动控制的信息共享需求,组建了一种RS485主从式通信网络,实现了以帧为单位的数据解析算法,并在此基础上进行了以帧元为单位的算法优化设计和实现。试验验证表明,该算法具备较好的实时性,满足起落架控制系统的实时通信控制需求。     

显微外科手术机器人——“妙手”系统的研究

描述了一套显微外科手术机器人系统——“妙手(MicroHand)”．该系统采用主从遥操作方式，主从手为同构异型模式：主手是具有三维力感觉功能的PHANToM Desktop，从手是针对显微外科手术特点而设计的高精度关节型机器人．从手末端安装有六维力传感器Mini40，将检测到手术环境的力信息反馈给主手，从而使手术医生通过PHANToM感受手术环境的三维力信息．本系统成功地对兔子颈部和腿部1毫米动脉进行了血管吻合手术操作，证明了它的有效性．