An official website of the United States government
Teleoperation—i.e., controlling a robot with human motion—proves promising in enabling a humanoid robot to move as dynamically as a human. But how to map human motion to a humanoid robot matters because a human and a humanoid robot rarely have identical topologies and dimensions. This work presents an experimental study that utilizes reaction tests to compare joint space and task space mappings for dynamic teleoperation of an anthropomorphic robotic arm that possesses human-level dynamic motion capabilities. The experimental results suggest that the robot achieved similar and, in some cases, human-level dynamic performances with both mappings for the six participating human subjects. All subjects became proficient at teleoperating the robot with both mappings after practice, despite that the subjects and the robot differed in size and link length ratio and that the teleoperation required the subjects to move unintuitively. Yet, most subjects developed their teleoperation proficiencies more quickly with task space mapping than with joint space mapping after similar amounts of practice. This study also indicates the potential values of three-dimensional task space mapping, a teleoperation training simulator, and force feedback to the human pilot for intuitive and dynamic teleoperation of a humanoid robot’s arms.
more »
« less
Teleoperation of Humanoid Robots: A Survey
Teleoperation of humanoid robots enables the integration of the cognitive skills and domain expertise of humans with the physical capabilities of humanoid robots. The operational versatility of humanoid robots makes them the ideal platform for a wide range of applications when teleoperating in a remote environment. However, the complexity of humanoid robots imposes challenges for teleoperation, particularly in unstructured dynamic environments with limited communication. Many advancements have been achieved in the last decades in this area, but a comprehensive overview is still missing. This survey article gives an extensive overview of humanoid robot teleoperation, presenting the general architecture of a teleoperation system and analyzing the different components. We also discuss different aspects of the topic, including technological and methodological advances, as well as potential applications.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 2043339
- PAR ID:
- 10397677
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- IEEE Transactions on Robotics
- ISSN:
- 1552-3098
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1 to 22
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
null (Ed.)Teleoperation—i.e., controlling a robot with human motion—proves promising in enabling a humanoid robot to move as dynamically as a human. But how to map human motion to a humanoid robot matters because a human and a humanoid robot rarely have identical topologies and dimensions. This work presents an experimental study that utilizes reaction tests to compare joint space and task space mappings for dynamic teleoperation of an anthropomorphic robotic arm that possesses human-level dynamic motion capabilities. The experimental results suggest that the robot achieved similar and, in some cases, human-level dynamic performances with both mappings for the six participating human subjects. All subjects became proficient at teleoperating the robot with both mappings after practice, despite that the subjects and the robot differed in size and link length ratio and that the teleoperation required the subjects to move unintuitively. Yet, most subjects developed their teleoperation proficiencies more quickly with task space mapping than with joint space mapping after similar amounts of practice. This study also indicates the potential values of three-dimensional task space mapping, a teleoperation training simulator, and force feedback to the human pilot for intuitive and dynamic teleoperation of a humanoid robot’s arms.more » « less
-
For humanoids to be deployed in demanding situations, such as search and rescue, highly intelligent decision making and proficient sensorimotor skill is expected. A promising solution is to leverage human prowess by interconnecting robot and human via teleoperation. Towards creating seamless operation, this paper presents a dynamic telelocomotion framework that synchronizes the gait of a human pilot with the walking of a bipedal robot. First, we introduce a method to generate a virtual human walking model from the stepping behavior of a human pilot which serves as a reference for the robot to walk. Second, the dynamics of the walking reference and robot walking are synchronized by applying forces to the human pilot and the robot to achieve dynamic similarity between the two systems. This enables the human pilot to continuously perceive and cancel any asynchrony between the walking reference and robot. A consistent step placement strategy for the robot is derived to maintain dynamic similarity through step transitions. Using our human-machine-interface, we demonstrate that the human pilot can achieve stable and synchronous teleoperation of a simulated robot through stepping-in-place, walking, and disturbance rejection experiments. This work provides a fundamental step towards transferring human intelligence and reflexes to humanoid robots.more » « less
-
Soft robotics holds tremendous potential for various applications, especially in unstructured environments such as search and rescue operations. However, the lack of autonomy and teleoperability, limited capabilities, absence of gait diversity and real-time control, and onboard sensors to sense the surroundings are some of the common issues with soft-limbed robots. To overcome these limitations, we propose a spatially symmetric, topologically-stable, soft-limbed tetrahedral robot that can perform multiple locomotion gaits. We introduce a kinematic model, derive locomotion trajectories for different gaits, and design a teleoperation mechanism to enable real-time human-robot collaboration. We use the kinematic model to map teleoperation inputs and ensure smooth transitions between gaits. Additionally, we leverage the passive compliance and natural stability of the robot for toppling and obstacle navigation. Through experimental tests, we demonstrate the robot's ability to tackle various locomotion challenges, adapt to different situations, and navigate obstructed environments via teleoperation.more » « less
-
By projecting into a 3-D workspace, robotic teleoperation using virtual reality allows for a more intuitive method of control for the operator than using a 2-D view from the robot's visual sensors. This paper investigates a setup that places the teleoperator in a virtual representation of the robot's environment and develops a deep learning based architecture modeling the correspondence between the operator's movements in the virtual space and joint angles for a humanoid robot using data collected from a series of demonstrations. We evaluate the correspondence model's performance in a pick-and - place teleoperation experiment.more » « less
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1109/TRO.2023.3236952
