Failure tolerant teleoperation of a kinematically redundant manipulator: an experimental study

Includes bibliographical references (page 880).Teleoperated robots in harsh environments have a significant likelihood of failures. It has been shown in previous work that a common type of failure such as that of a joint "locking up", when unidentified by the robot controller, can cause considerable performance degradation in the local behavior of the manipulator even for simple point-to-point motion tasks. The effects of a failure become more critical for a system with a human in the loop, where unpredictable behavior of the robotic arm can completely disorient the operator. In this experimental study involving teleoperation of a graphically simulated kinematically redundant manipulator, two control schemes, the pseudoinverse and a proposed failure-tolerant inverse, were randomly presented under both non-failure and failure scenarios to a group of operators. Based on performance measures derived from the recorded trajectory data and operator responses, it is seen that the failure tolerant inverse kinematic control scheme improved the performance of the human/robot system

Failure tolerant teleoperation of a kinematically redundant manipulator: an experimental study

Includes bibliographical references (page 765).Teleoperated robots in harsh environments have a significant likelihood of failures. It has been shown in previous work that a common type of failure such as that of a joint "locking up," when unidentified by the robot controller, can cause considerable performance degradation in the local behavior of the manipulator even for simple point-to-point motion tasks. The effects of a failure become more critical for a system with a human in the loop, where unpredictable behavior of the robotic arm can completely disorient the operator. In this experimental study involving teleoperation of a graphically simulated kinematically redundant manipulator, two control schemes, the pseudoinverse and a proposed failure-tolerant inverse, were randomly presented under both nonfailure and failure scenarios to a group of operators. Based on performance measures derived from the recorded trajectory data and operator ratings of task difficulty, it is seen that the failure-tolerant inverse kinematic control scheme improved the performance of the human/robot system

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 364)

This bibliography lists 188 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during June 1992. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and physiology, life support systems and man/system technology, protective clothing, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, planetary biology, and flight crew behavior and performance

Robotics handbook. Version 1: For the interested party and professional

This publication covers several categories of information about robotics. The first section provides a brief overview of the field of Robotics. The next section provides a reasonably detailed look at the NASA Robotics program. The third section features a listing of companies and organization engaging in robotics or robotic-related activities; followed by a listing of associations involved in the field; followed by a listing of publications and periodicals which cover elements of robotics or related fields. The final section is an abbreviated abstract of referred journal material and other reference material relevant to the technology and science of robotics, including such allied fields as vision perception; three-space axis orientation and measurement systems and associated inertial reference technology and algorithms; and physical and mechanical science and technology related to robotics

Objective performance metrics for improved space telerobotics training

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2011.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 47-50).NASA astronauts undergo many hours of formal training and self-study to gain proficiency in space teleoperation tasks. After each lesson, instructors score an astronaut's performance in several broad skill categories, including 'General Situational Awareness', 'Maneuvers/Task Performance', and 'Hand- Controller Techniques'. A plus, check, or minus indicates that the student is ahead of, at, or behind the expected skill level. The scoring of the final evaluation for a robotics training course is also largely subjective, with the instructor designating an integer score for the student between 1 (Unsatisfactory) and 5 (Strong) in the same skill categories. This thesis research project was designed to: (1) consider the variety of quantitative metrics that could be embedded into a space robotics training simulation, and (2) investigate at what point and by what means it is most constructive for performance assessment to be revealed to an operator-in-training. We reviewed the current largely qualitative space robotics performance metrics, as well as new quantitative kinematic metrics of manual control skills-including those explored thus far only in laboratory experiments-and additional measures of executive function and supervisory control performance. Kinematic metrics include quantitative measures such as rate of change of linear and rotational acceleration. Potential measures of executive function and supervisory control include camera selection and clearance monitoring. To instantiate our ideas, we chose a specific "fly-to" space telerobotics task taught in the early phases of NASA Generic Robotics Training (GRT) and developed a pilot training experiment (n=16) using our virtual robotics training workstation. Our goal was to evaluate potential performance metrics designed to encourage use of multi-axis control, and to compare real-time ("live") performance feedback alternatives (live visual vs. live aural vs. none). Movement time decreased and multi-axis and bimanual control use gradually increased across trials. All subjects had the opportunity to view post-trial performance feedback including these metrics. Although our subjects overwhelmingly preferred the live, visual feedback condition, no reliable additional effects of live feedback condition were found, except perhaps among the more experienced subjects. However, the experiment demonstrated that embedded performance metrics potentially could quantify and improve some important aspects of GRT evaluations.Supported by the National Space Biomedical Research Institute through NASA NCC9-58by Rachel Emily Forman.S.M

Aerospace medicine and biology: A cumulative index to a continuing bibliography (supplement 371)

This publication is a cumulative index to the abstracts contained in Supplements 359 through 370 of Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A Continuing Bibliography. It includes seven indexes: subject, personal author, corporate source, foreign technology, contract number, report number, and accession number

Performance benefits of telerobotics and teleoperation - enhancements for an arm-based tank waste retrieval system

This report evaluates telerobotic and teleoperational arm-based retrieval systems that require advanced robotic controls. These systems will be deployed in waste retrieval activities in Hanford`s Single Shell Tanks (SSTs). The report assumes that arm-based, retrieval systems will combine a teleoperational arm and control system enhanced by a number of advanced and telerobotic controls. The report describes many possible enhancements, spanning the full range of the control spectrum with the potential for technical maturation. The enhancements considered present a variety of choices and factors including: the enhancements to be included in the actual control system, safety, detailed task analyses, human factors, cost-benefit ratios, and availability and maturity of technology. Because the actual system will be designed by an offsite vendor, the procurement specifications must have the flexibility to allow bidders to propose a broad range of ideas, yet build in enough restrictions to filter out infeasible and undesirable approaches. At the same time they must allow selection of a technically promising proposal. Based on a preliminary analysis of the waste retrieval task, and considering factors such as operator limitations and the current state of robotics technology, the authors recommend a set of enhancements that will (1) allow the system to complete its waste retrieval mission, and (2) enable future upgrades in response to changing mission needs and technological advances