Passive Actuation for Robotic Devices in Contact with Humans

人类和机器人需要在工厂、核设施、太空和医学领域共同工作。为了使交互本质上安全，本研究探讨了受控被动机器人界面的概念。所研究的界面本质上是一个关节之间只有耗散（制动器或离合器）或保守（变速器）耦合的臂。不使用电机。施加在手臂末端的力导致运动，可以根据设备的目的由计算机控制：遵循规定的路径，限制对工作空间某些区域的访问，或提供代表虚拟或远程环境性质的触觉显示。实验和分析将产生一个人机交互的模型。在先前拨款下开发的实验试验台将得到加强，以支持目前的研究。与此同时，一个更小规模的设备正在计划中，重点是触觉显示，使更广泛的探索基本概念的潜在应用范围。实验将在设备上进行，并与人类用户进行交互。信息传递能力和弹道增强能力是两个相关方面的实验研究，并纳入交互模型。将进行理论研究，以预测不同控制器预期性能的界限。

Humans and robots have need to work together in factories, in nuclear facilities, in space and in medicine. To make the interaction inherently safe, this research is investigating the concept of controlled passive robotic interface. The interface under study is essentially an arm with only dissipative (brakes or clutches) or conservative (transmissions) coupling between joints. No motors are used. Forces applied at the end of the arm result in motion that can be computer controlled according to the purposes of the device: to follow a prescribed path, to restrict access to some regions of the workspace, or to provide a haptic display representing the nature of a virtual or remote environment. Experiment and analysis will produce a model of the human-machine interaction. An experimental test bed developed under prior funding will be enhanced to support the current research. At the same time a much smaller scale device is planned with a focus on haptic displays, enabling wider exploration of the range of potential applications of the basic concept. Experiments will be conducted on the device and on its interaction with a human user. The information transmission capability and the trajectory enhancement capability are two related aspects to be studied experimentally and incorporated into the model of interaction. Theoretical studies will be conducted to predict the bounds on the performance to be expected with different controllers.