Tele-Operated Robotic Arm and Hand with Intuitive Control and Haptic Feedback

Abstract

The paper presents a robotic arm having as end effector an anthropomorphic hand and its control system. The robotic arm and hand are controlled using a Complex Interactive Control Glove (CICG) and operator joint sensors. The robotic hand imitates the finger and joint movements of the human operator. The anthropomorphic hand sends pressure feedback from a pressure sensor array mounted at the robotic hand’s fingers and palm to the human operator wearing a Complex Interactive Control Glove that comprises haptic actuators. The pressure exerted by the robotic hand on various objects is perceived as vibrations on the corresponding hand area of the human operator. The robotic arm adjusts its position in correlation with the human operator’s arm, placing the end effector at the right position, corresponding to the operator’s hand. Data for the movement of the robotic arm are collected from the movements of the human operator by means of three joint sensors placed on the shoulder, elbow and hand wrist. Targeted applications of the tele-operated robotic arm and hand with intuitive control and haptic feedback include all situations where a human-like operation is needed in a hazardous or remote environment: space environment, operations executed in toxic atmosphere, working in high-radiation level environments, marine applications. In such cases, the robotic hand and arm that are executing the same movements as the human operator can replace the actual human operator. This will control the robotic arm form a safe, possibly remote, environment, and will be able to process the haptic feedback of the systems.