Teleoperation of passivity-based model reference robust control over the internet

This dissertation offers a survey of a known theoretical approach and novel experimental results in establishing a live communication medium through the internet to host a virtual communication environment for use in Passivity-Based Model Reference Robust Control systems with delays. The controller which is used as a carrier to support a robust communication between input-to-state stability is designed as a control strategy that passively compensates for position errors that arise during contact tasks and strives to achieve delay-independent stability for controlling of aircrafts or other mobile objects. Furthermore the controller is used for nonlinear systems, coordination of multiple agents, bilateral teleoperation, and collision avoidance thus maintaining a communication link with an upper bound of constant delay is crucial for robustness and stability of the overall system. For utilizing such framework an elucidation can be formulated by preparing site survey for analyzing not only the geographical distances separating the nodes in which the teleoperation will occur but also the communication parameters that define the virtual topography that the data will travel through. This survey will first define the feasibility of the overall operation since the teleoperation will be used to sustain a delay based controller over the internet thus obtaining a hypothetical upper bound for the delay via site survey is crucial not only for the communication system but also the delay is required for the design of the passivity-based model reference robust control. Following delay calculation and measurement via site survey, bandwidth tests for unidirectional and bidirectional communication is inspected to ensure that the speed is viable to maintain a real-time connection. Furthermore from obtaining the results it becomes crucial to measure the consistency of the delay throughout a sampled period to guarantee that the upper bound is not breached at any point within the communication to jeopardize the robustness of the controller. Following delay analysis a geographical and topological overview of the communication is also briefly examined via a trace-route to understand the underlying nodes and their contribution to the delay and round-trip consistency. To accommodate the communication channel for the controller the input and output data from both nodes need to be encapsulated within a transmission control protocol via a multithreaded design of a robust program within the C language. The program will construct a multithreaded client-server relationship in which the control data is transmitted. For added stability and higher level of security the channel is then encapsulated via an internet protocol security by utilizing a protocol suite for protecting the communication by authentication and encrypting each packet of the session using negotiation of cryptographic keys during each session

KONTUR-2: Force-feedback Teleoperation from the International Space Station

This paper presents a new robot controller for space telerobotics missions specially designed to meet the requirements of KONTUR-2, a German & Russian telerobotics mission that addressed scientific and technological questions for future planetary explorations. In KONTUR-2, Earth and ISS have been used as a test-bed to evaluate and demonstrate a new technology for real-time telemanipulation from space. During the August 2015' experiments campaign, a cosmonaut teleoperated a robot manipulator located in Germany, using a force-feedback joystick from the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS). The focus of the paper is on the design and performance of the bilateral controller between ISS joystick and Earth robot. The controller is based on a 4-Channels architecture in which stability is guaranteed through passivity and the Time Delay Power Network (TDPN) concept. We show how the proposed approach successfully fulfills mission requirements, specially those related to system operation through space links and internet channels, involving time delays and data losses of different nature

Space robotics: Recent accomplishments and opportunities for future research

The Langley Guidance, Navigation, and Control Technical Committee (GNCTC) was one of six technical committees created in 1991 by the Chief Scientist, Dr. Michael F. Card. During the kickoff meeting Dr. Card charged the chairmen to: (1) establish a cross-Center committee; (2) support at least one workshop in a selected discipline; and (3) prepare a technical paper on recent accomplishments in the discipline and on opportunities for future research. The Guidance, Navigation, and Control Committee was formed and selected for focus on the discipline of Space robotics. This report is a summary of the committee's assessment of recent accomplishments and opportunities for future research. The report is organized as follows. First is an overview of the data sources used by the committee. Next is a description of technical needs identified by the committee followed by recent accomplishments. Opportunities for future research ends the main body of the report. It includes the primary recommendation of the committee that NASA establish a national space facility for the development of space automation and robotics, one element of which is a telerobotic research platform in space. References 1 and 2 are the proceedings of two workshops sponsored by the committee during its June 1991, through May 1992 term. The focus of the committee for the June 1992 - May 1993 term will be to further define to the recommended platform in space and to add an additional discipline which includes aircraft related GN&C issues. To the latter end members performing aircraft related research will be added to the committee. (A preliminary assessment of future opportunities in aircraft-related GN&C research has been included as appendix A.

An Analysis of Sampling Effect on the Absolute Stability of Discrete-time Bilateral Teleoperation Systems

Absolute stability of discrete-time teleoperation systems can be jeopardized by choosing inappropriate sampling time architecture. A modified structure is presented for the bilateral teleoperation system including continuous-time slave robot, master robot, human operator, and the environment with sampled-data PD-like + dissipation controllers which make the system absolute stable in the presence of the time delay and sampling rates in the communication network. The output position and force signals are quantized with uniform sampling periods. Input-delay approach is used in this paper to convert the sampled-data system to a continuous-time counterpart. The main contribution of this paper is calculating a lower bound on the maximum sampling period as a stability condition. Also, the presented method imposes upper bounds on the damping of robots and notifies the sampling time importance on the transparency and stability of the system. Both simulation and experimental results are performed to show the validity of the proposed conditions and verify the effectiveness of the sampling scheme

Technology for the Future: In-Space Technology Experiments Program, part 2

The purpose of the Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology (OAST) In-Space Technology Experiments Program In-STEP 1988 Workshop was to identify and prioritize technologies that are critical for future national space programs and require validation in the space environment, and review current NASA (In-Reach) and industry/ university (Out-Reach) experiments. A prioritized list of the critical technology needs was developed for the following eight disciplines: structures; environmental effects; power systems and thermal management; fluid management and propulsion systems; automation and robotics; sensors and information systems; in-space systems; and humans in space. This is part two of two parts and contains the critical technology presentations for the eight theme elements and a summary listing of critical space technology needs for each theme

PD-like controller with impedance for delayed bilateral teleoperation of mobile robots

This paper proposes a control scheme applied to the delayed bilateral teleoperation of mobile robots with force feedback in face of asymmetric and time-varying delays. The scheme is managed by a velocity PD-like control plus impedance and a force feedback based on damping and synchronization error. A fictitious force, depending on the robot motion and its environment, is used to avoid possible collisions. In addition, the stability of the system is analyzed from which simple conditions for the control parameters are established in order to assure stability. Finally, the performance of the delayed teleoperation system is shown through experiments where a human operator drives a mobile robot.Fil: Slawiñski, Emanuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico San Juan. Instituto de Automática; ArgentinaFil: García, Sebastián Ernesto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico San Juan. Instituto de Automática; ArgentinaFil: Salinas, Lucio Rafael. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico San Juan. Instituto de Automática; ArgentinaFil: Mut, Vicente Antonio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico San Juan. Instituto de Automática; Argentin

NASA space station automation: AI-based technology review. Executive summary

Research and Development projects in automation technology for the Space Station are described. Artificial Intelligence (AI) based technologies are planned to enhance crew safety through reduced need for EVA, increase crew productivity through the reduction of routine operations, increase space station autonomy, and augment space station capability through the use of teleoperation and robotics