Control Systems Design for Stable Telerobotic and Haptic Interactions

远程机器人和触觉模拟系统使人类能够通过与称为触觉设备的致动手持机械装置进行交互，将其感知和操纵能力扩展并投射到遥远、危险或虚拟的世界。随着快速计算和先进电信系统的出现，协作触觉已经成为一种可行的技术，通过它，两个或更多的用户可以远程交互或协作来执行共同或复杂的任务。这些系统的新兴应用是远程手术(达芬奇外科系统)、远程康复、远程维护和远程细胞微钳。 这类系统广泛使用的一个根本挑战在于设计控制器，在用户动态的不确定以及通常未知的环境以及数据处理和传输的延迟的情况下，保持接触稳定性并传达真实的操纵感。在控制回路中涉及人类用户反应的组件和系统两级的整体方法将大大改善稳定性和性能之间的权衡。拟议的研究计划以协作触觉为重点，将开发核心技术，包括新型控制算法、用于模拟触觉驱动的电子硬件和高效的分析工具，这将为新应用的开发以及触觉技术在行业中的广泛采用铺平道路。预计这项拟议研究的影响将通过医疗保健、制造业、建筑、能源和军事等多个行业在经济和技术战线上感受到。 该项目将在设备齐全的协作环境中为七名研究生提供机电一体化、触觉、控制、生物力学、生物信号处理和编程方面的独特和多样化的培训机会。

Telerobotic and haptic simulation systems enable humans to scale and project their sensing and manipulation capabilities to remote, dangerous or virtual worlds, by means of interfacing with an actuated hand-held mechanism, known as a haptic device. With the advent of fast computing and advanced telecommunication systems, collaborative haptics has transpired as a viable technology by which two or more users interact or collaborate remotely to perform a common or complex task. Emerging applications of these systems are in tele-surgery (da Vinci Surgical System), tele-rehabilitation, tele-maintenance, and tele-microtweezing of cells. A fundamental challenge for a widespread use of such systems reside in designing controllers that maintain contact stability and convey a true sense of manipulation amid uncertainties in the dynamics of users and often unknown environments, and the delays in data processing and transmission. A holistic approach both at the component and system levels that involves the human user response in the control loop will lend to a significantly improved trade-off between stability and performance. The proposed research program, with a focus on collaborative haptics, will develop core technologies, including novel control algorithms, electronic hardware for analog haptic actuation, and efficient analytical tools, that will pave the way for the development of new applications, and a widespread adoption of haptic technology by industry. The impact of the proposed research is expected to be felt through various industries including healthcare, manufacturing, construction, energy and military at both the economic and technological fronts. The program will offer unique and diverse training opportunities in mechatronics, haptics, controls, biomechanics, biosignal processing and programming to seven graduate students in a well-equipped collaborative environment.