Function-based control sharing for robotic systems

A new function-based control sharing scheme for robotic systems has been developed based on the event-based planning and control theory. It provides a unified model to integrate a human operator control command with action planning and control of autonomous operation. As a result, the robotic systems can perform tasks which cannot be done by either human operator or autonomous planner/controller alone. This scheme lays down a foundation for planning and control of a general robotic system involving human operators, and provides a natural and efficient way to fuse the human intelligence with the machine intelligence. The scheme is implemented and tested on a PUMA 560 dual-arm system. The experimental results of obstacle avoidance, hybrid force/position control with a commanded force as well as dual-arm coordinated teleoperation are presented.