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.