基于通信-控制融合的视触觉传输技术研究

随着触感网（Tactile Internet）被5G纳为重要用例，作为触感网的典型应用场景，网联遥操作系统得到广泛关注，如何实现其通信-控制融合成为亟待解决的问题。针对网络延迟和带宽对遥操作控制性能的影响，以及现有方案中通信模型和传输机制不适用于触觉信息“闭环”传输等问题，本项目从视触觉通信出发，探索实现遥操作系统通信-控制融合的新机制和新方法。首先，利用遥操作系统“人类在环”的特性，研究对触觉信息传输具有指导意义的用户体验质量（QoE），探索QoE与通信延迟、传输速率之间的关系；在此基础上，以最大化遥操作系统用户体验为目标，设计QoE驱动的触觉信息传输机制；在满足触觉信息实时高效传输的基础上，提出“感知同步”的概念，通过设计基于优先级的网络资源分配机制实现视触觉信息的同步传输；最后以远程复健为应用实例，对上述模型、方法和机制的性能进行测试和验证。

Teleoperation across a communication network has been considered as a prime use case of 5G Tactile Internet, which requires a tight integration of communication and control. In teleoperation systems, the communication of haptic information imposes strong demands on the communication delay and bandwidth. Even small communication delays in the haptic communication channel jeopardize system stability and transparency. Unfortunately, the communication model and transmission mechanisms adopted in the current teleoperation systems are infeasible for haptic communications because of the coupling behavior of forward and backward transmission of haptic information. In this project, we investigate the joint optimization of control and communication from the visual-haptic signal transmission perspective. We first leverage the “human-in-the-loop” characteristic of teleoperation systems, and explore the relationship between the Quality-of-Experience (QoE) of teleoperation systems and the Quality-of-Service (QoS) parameters of communication networks, such as delay and bitrate. Based on the proposed QoE models, we propose QoE-driven scheduling mechanisms for haptic data transmission in teleoperation systems with different control schemes. In addition, we propose the concept of “perceptual synchronization”, which represents the largest perceptible delay between haptic and video feedback from the remote robot. We further propose a prioritized resource allocation scheme to realize perceptual synchrony of haptic and video transmission. Finally, all proposed models, algorithms and schemes will be tested and verified with a prototyping tele-rehabilitation system.