Stability Criteria and Motor Performance in Delayed Haptic Dyadic Interactions Mediated by Robots

Abstract

This paper establishes analytical stability criteria for robot-mediated human-human (dyadic) interaction systems, focusing on haptic communication under network-induced time delays. Through frequency-domain analysis supported by numerical simulations, we identify both delay-independent and delay-dependent stability criteria. The delay-independent criterion guarantees stability irrespective of the delay, whereas the delay-dependent criterion is characterised by a maximum tolerable delay before instability occurs. The criteria demonstrate dependence on controller and robot dynamic parameters, where increasing stiffness reduces the maximum tolerable delay in a non-linear manner, thereby heightening system vulnerability. The proposed criteria can be generalised to a wide range of robot-mediated interactions and serve as design guidelines for stable remote dyadic systems. Experiments with robots performing human-like movements further illustrate the correlation between stability and motor performance. The findings of this paper suggest the prerequisites for effective delay-compensation strategies.