Cooperative control of virtual objects over the Internet using force-reflecting master arms

TLDR

Force‑reflecting master arms are investigated as haptic displays for internet‑based physical therapy, enabling patients and therapists to jointly manipulate a shared virtual object from remote locations. The study implements a wave‑variable cooperative control architecture to mitigate destabilizing effects of internet time‑delay. The architecture maps forces exerted by each haptic master onto a virtual object, generating desired velocities for the master arms to track, and is experimentally validated with InMotion2 robots performing a virtual beam manipulation task across remote sites. Experimental validation with InMotion2 robots demonstrates the control scheme’s effectiveness in a virtual beam manipulation task across remote sites.

Abstract

Force-reflecting master arms are explored for use as haptic displays in physical therapy interventions over the internet. Rehabilitation tasks can be constructed in which both the patient and therapist can interact with a common object from distant locations. Each haptic master exerts "forces" on a virtual object which, in response, generates desired velocities for the master arm to track. A novel cooperative control architecture based on wave variables is implemented to counter the destabilizing effect of internet time-delay. The control scheme is validated experimentally using a pair of InMotion2 robots in a virtual beam manipulation task between remote sites.