Study on operability of multifunctional haptic device for teleoperation

In this study, we investigated the operability of our multifunctional haptic device for teleoperation. The device has currently three modes which represent different control devices. The goal of our research is to determine a root position of the device relative to an operator to enable him to manipulate the device comfortably in all modes. The root position should be determined based on the operability of the device in each mode. We evaluate the operability of the device using the manipulability measure of the operator's upper limbs when the operator grips the device in each mode. The measure is calculated with joint angles acquired from a human model which is created in a 3D CAD. However, there are several models of shoulder joints, and the calculation results are different according to the models. First, the manipulability measures and manipulability ellipsoids were calculated to all models. Then, we compared the actual operator's motion with the ellipsoids, and determined the shoulder model suitable for evaluating the operability of each mode.