Haptic Tele-Assembly over the Internet

Abstract

A multimodal telepresence system enables a human operator to perform tasks in a remote environment. The operator manipulates the human system interface (HSI) thereby commanding the executing robot (teleoperator). The multimodal sensor information from the remote environment is fed back and displayed to the operator. Data are transmitted over a communication network, as e.g. the Internet. Considering the visual and auditory feedback as state-of-the-art multimedia the focus of our research is on the haptic feedback system. Telepresence and teleaction will be a key technology for rescue applications in hazardous environments. In addition to reconnaissance and transportation abilities, future rescuing robots need the possibility of physical interaction with the environment. An example of such a task is to put up scaffolding to support walls in a collapsed building. Aiming at the assembly application of haptic telepresence systems other researchers have performed standard peg-in-hole experiments [1, 2]. Issues regarding communication over packet switched networks and kinematical transformations though have not been addressed in the context of complex manipulation tasks.