Development of a telepresence controlled ambidextrous robot for space applications

A master-slave system is developed to evaluate the effectiveness of telepresence in space telerobotics applications. An operator uses the master's telepresence and virtual reality equipment to control the slave. The slave is a dual-arm, dual-hand robot equipped with a stereo camera platform designed to provide an operator-centered perspective of the remote environment. The initial integration and tests of the system presented several operational issues that are resolved through a variety of shared control techniques and optimized algorithms. The resulting system provides a very flexible capability and is used to perform a range of tasks: grasping and handling toots, manipulating electronics controls, manipulating soft flexible material, and performing planetary geology tasks that involve a variety of manipulation and tool-use skills. Using this system an operator is able to complete most of these tasks in less than 2 minutes.