Relationship between System Parameters and Operator’s Haptic Sensation in Bilateral Controlled Master–Slave System

ABSTRACT

When adjusting the parameters of a bilateral controlled master–slave system according to the task requirements, the operator’s haptic sensation requirements for the contact between the slave device and the environment should also be considered. However, a quantitative relationship between the parameters and the haptic sensation has not been clarified. First, this paper introduces an index quantifying the operator’s haptic sensation by its value. Second, for the simple and complex position-force bilateral control models, the relationships between the haptic sensation index and the parameters are derived and expressed as functions calculating the index value directly from the parameter values. Third, the experimental results reveal that the parameter design according to the derived function is valid. The results of this study are expected to be useful as a guideline for adjusting the parameters of a bilateral controlled master–slave system with consideration to the haptic sensation.

Acknowledgments

This research did not receive any specific grants from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Dongbo Zhou

Dongbo Zhou received his ME degree from the University of Tsukuba, Japan, in 2011. He is currently working toward a PhD degree at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. His research interests include haptics and robotics. His current work focuses on the aspects of kinesthetic sensation in master–slave robot systems.

Kotaro Tadano

Kotaro Tadano received his Dr Eng. degrees in mechanical engineering from the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan, in 2007. He is currently an Associate Professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. His research interests include robotics, teleoperation, and pneumatic systems. He is a Member of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society.