Scaled bilateral teleoperation using discrete-time sliding mode controller

In this paper, the design of a discrete-time slidingmode controller based on Lyapunov theory is presented along with a robust disturbance observer and is applied to a piezostage for high-precision motion. A linear model of a piezostage was used with nominal parameters to compensate the disturbance acting on the system in order to achieve nanometer accuracy. The effectiveness of the controller and disturbance observer is validated in terms of closed-loop position performance for nanometer references. The control structure has been applied to a scaled bilateral structure for the custom-built telemicromanipulation setup. A piezoresistive atomic force microscope cantilever with a built-in Wheatstone bridge is utilized to achieve the nanonewtonlevel interaction forces between the piezoresistive probe tip and the environment. Experimental results are provided for the nanonewton-range force sensing, and good agreement between the experimental data and the theoretical estimates has been demonstrated. Force/position tracking and transparency between the master and the slave has been clearly demonstrated after necessary scalin

Model following control with discrete time SMC for time-delayed bilateral control systems

This paper proposes a new algorithm based on model following control to recover the uncompensated slave disturbance on time delayed motion control systems having contact with environment. In the previous works, a modified Communication Disturbance Observer (CDOB) was shown to be successful in ensuring position tracking in free motion under varying time delay. However, experiments show that due to the imperfections in slave plant Disturbance Observer (DOB) when there is rapid change of external force on the slave side, as in the case of environment contact, position tracking is degraded. This paper first analyzes the effect of environment contact for motion control systems with disturbance observers. Following this analysis, a model following controller scheme is proposed to restore the ideal motion on the slave system. A virtual plant is introduced which accepts the current from the master side and determines what the position output would be if there was no environment. Based on the error bet ween actual system and model system, a discrete time sliding mode controller is designed which enforces the real slave system to track the virtual slave output. In other words, convergence of slave position to the master position is achieved even though there is contact with environment. Experimental verification of the proposed control scheme also shows the improvement in slave position tracking under contact forces

Planning and Real Time Control of a Minimally Invasive Robotic Surgery System

This paper introduces the planning and control software of a teleoperating robotic system for minimally invasive surgery. It addresses the problem of how to organize a complex system with 41 degrees of freedom including robot setup planning, force feedback control and nullspace handling with three robotic arms. The planning software is separated into sequentially executed planning and registration procedures. An optimal setup is first planned in virtual reality and then adapted to variations in the operating room. The real time control system is composed of hierarchical layers. The design is flexible and expandable without losing performance. Structure, functionality and implementation of planning and control are described. The robotic system provides the surgeon with an intuitive hand-eye-coordination and force feedback in teleoperation for both hands

Connectivity-Preserving Swarm Teleoperation With A Tree Network

During swarm teleoperation, the human operator may threaten the distance-dependent inter-robot communications and, with them, the connectivity of the slave swarm. To prevent the harmful component of the human command from disconnecting the swarm network, this paper develops a constructive strategy to dynamically modulate the interconnections of, and the locally injected damping at, all slave robots. By Lyapunov-based set invariance analysis, the explicit law for updating that control gains has been rigorously proven to synchronize the slave swarm while preserving all interaction links in the tree network. By properly limiting the impact of the user command rather than rejecting it entirely, the proposed control law enables the human operator to guide the motion of the slave swarm to the extent to which it does not endanger the connectivity of the swarm network. Experiment results demonstrate that the proposed strategy can maintain the connectivity of the tree network during swarm teleoperation