Newswise —
If you can envision yourself comfortably reclining on a bed, and simply using your fingers to direct a mobile robot to bring you a refreshing cup of water, fetch your deliveries by opening the door, or even take care of your laundry, then you may want to explore a cutting-edge remotely controlled robotic system that relies on two mobile manipulators. This innovative system was created by robotics specialists from Osaka University, and their research paper on this technology was published in the journal Cyborg and Bionic Systems on February 10th.
In 2013, the Fukushima nuclear power plant experienced a catastrophic radioactive leak and contamination, rendering the surrounding area perilous for humans to perform emergency tasks. Consequently, many remotely operated robots were deployed, significantly reducing the risks and hazards for rescue workers. Since then, the development of remotely controlled robotic systems has become a prominent area of research.
According to the study authors, field robots have been developed not only for use in radiation-exposed areas but also to collect data in remote locations damaged by earthquakes or other disasters, medical sites without access to expert doctors, outer space exploration, and many other applications.
Weiwei Wan, the corresponding author of this study from the Graduate School of Engineering at Osaka University, notes that the research interest in remote control has become even more significant in the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has severely restricted people's movements. As a result, a series of robots have been developed and remotely deployed in Wuhan hospitals to aid doctors and patients, highlighting the importance and potential of remote-controlled robotic systems in healthcare and emergency response scenarios.
This study differs from previous research, which typically focused on mobile bases with one or two robotic arms mounted on them. Instead, this study features two separate mobile bases, each equipped with a manipulator that can be controlled by one hand. The operator's hand poses are recorded using a motion capture system, enabling precise control over the corresponding robotic arm. Additionally, the operator can use two joysticks to move the two mobile bases, allowing the two manipulators to work cooperatively, much like how we use our own hands.
Wan acknowledges that while the proposed idea of using two independently movable manipulators for motion-tracking-based teleoperation is intriguing, there are inherent issues that must be addressed. The first challenge is how to map the postures of the human teleoperator's two arms to the corresponding manipulator's poses. The second challenge is how to avoid collisions between the two manipulators in certain circumstances. Lastly, there is the challenge of remotely monitoring the two manipulators, which operate over a large range. However, the team believes they have addressed these issues by implementing special routines and using hand-mounted cameras.
The team demonstrated the capabilities of this robotic system by picking up a coffee mug and handing it over using only one mobile manipulator. Furthermore, they showed that the two mobile manipulators could work cooperatively to pick up and place long sticks. According to Wan, "Since there are two mobile manipulators, the presented system could keep the advantages of having two arms while extending the human body functions." The results of their experiments demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed system, which expands the range of human abilities while retaining the benefits of having two limbs.
The team plans to focus on addressing several remaining problems in the future. These include developing an automatic calibration method to match the direction of the human teleoperator's arms with the manipulators, using a joystick with a built-in IMU sensor to provide the teleoperator with more flexible control, minimizing coordination errors between the two manipulators, and providing a feedback interface for teleoperation in a distant and unseen workspace.
The authors of the paper include Yusuke Hirao, Weiwei Wan, Dimitrios Kanoulas, and Kensuke Harada.
The research is funded by the UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship (RoboHike) and the UCL-Osaka University Strategic Partner Fund 2021.
The paper, “Body Extension by Using Two Mobile Manipulators,” was published in the journal Cyborg and Bionic Systems on Feburary 10, 2023, at DOI: https://doi.org/10.34133/cbsystems.0014
Reference
Authors: Yusuke Hirao1, Weiwei Wan1, Dimitrios Kanoulas2, and Kensuke Harada1
Title of original paper: Body Extension by Using Two Mobile Manipulators
Journal: Cyborg and Bionic Systems
DOI: 10.34133/cbsystems.0014
Affiliations:
1Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan.
2Department of Computer Science, University College London, London, UK.
RSS