Stability and Transparency Analysis of a Teleoperation Chain For Microscale Interaction.

International audienceMicroscale teleoperation with haptic feedback requires scaling gains in the order of 104 107. These high gains impose a trade-off between stability and transparency. Due to the conservative approach used in most designs, transparency is reduced since damping is added to the system to guarantee stability. Starting from the fact that series, negative feedback and parallel connection of passive systems is a passive system, a new approach is addressed in this work. We propose here a complete teleoperation chain designed from the ground up for full transparency and stability, including a novel self-sensing probe and a high fidelity force-feedback haptic interface. By guaranteeing the passivity of each device and assuming that the human operator and the environment are passive systems, a homothetic direct coupling can be used without jeopardizing the stability and provides best transparency. The system is experimentally demonstrated in the complex case of a probe interacting with a water droplet under human control, while accurately transcribing the interaction back to operator

Extending Cognitive Work Analysis and Engaging Nanotechnology: Embodied, Embedded and Socially Situated Processes

With current advances in material science and the growth of novel technologies, the nature of human technology interaction is changing. Specifically, the growth and convergence of Nano-, Bio-, Info- and Cognitive Science (NBIC) related technologies has resulted in the emergence of new systems, which requires considerations of the embodied, embedded and socially situated aspects of the human behavior for advanced interaction with intelligent and responsive environments. Currently, Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) and the associated Ecological Interface Design (EID) are well positioned to draw requirements from these future smart environments; however, the role of the body in human knowing and acting as currently conceptualized in CWA requires further development. This thesis extends CWA by addressing the role of the body in human knowing and acting. Further, it also extends CWA by making the link between interpretive social approaches to human knowing and acting (specifically, symbolic interactionism) and CWA. Thus, this thesis supports the conception of the human in advanced technological environments as an embodied, embedded and socially situated construct. In this thesis, CWA was extended at a fundamental level. This strategy required returning to the basic assumptions of CWA derived from Rasmussen’s approach. A considerable portion of this thesis scrutinizes the fundamental assumptions of CWA by revisiting Rasmussen’s papers and highlighting the engineering dimension of his approach. CWA is then extended via consideration of Rasmussen’s approach along with other theoretical approaches from ecological psychology, action theory and symbolic interactionism, in order to produce a framework for gathering requirements for interface design. In this extended CWA, the first step allows for an interpretative understanding of the user’s traditional ways of knowing and acting. Whereas the second step consists of an analysis amenable for eliciting the design requirements. To show the applicability of the new extended framework, the work domain of nanotechnology is chosen. A field study was conducted in the area of nanotechnology that comprised of three subdomains pertaining to devices, robotics and materials. The requirements derived from these three areas were compared between the standard CWA and the extended CWA. In all the three cases the extended CWA supported the traditional CWA, as well as provided a greater number of requirements pertaining to the role of the body and the social dimension of activity in human knowing and acting. Therefore, this shows that the theoretical extensions have a practical feasibility in terms of using the extended CWA

Tuning the gains of haptic couplings to improve force feedback stability in nanorobotics

International audienceThis paper deals with the problem of bilateral haptic control in nanorobotics. At this scale, a human operator cannot interact directly with objects. He needs special tools manipulated through robotic systems. Therefore, force feedback devices are the only solution to provide him a sense of touch. However, the quality of the rendering strongly influences his ability to perform a given task. Stability is the main requirement that the system must fulfil to be usable. As the choice of the controller and its tuning are critical issues, a general method to tune the parameters of two haptic controllers is presented. A theoretical study is carried out and the methodology is validated with an experiment composed of several phases with high dynamic phenomena. Intrinsic limitations of the two controllers are also pointed out

Cyber-Human Systems, Space Technologies, and Threats

CYBER-HUMAN SYSTEMS, SPACE TECHNOLOGIES, AND THREATS is our eighth textbook in a series covering the world of UASs / CUAS/ UUVs / SPACE. Other textbooks in our series are Space Systems Emerging Technologies and Operations; Drone Delivery of CBNRECy – DEW Weapons: Emerging Threats of Mini-Weapons of Mass Destruction and Disruption (WMDD); Disruptive Technologies with applications in Airline, Marine, Defense Industries; Unmanned Vehicle Systems & Operations On Air, Sea, Land; Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems Technologies and Operations; Unmanned Aircraft Systems in the Cyber Domain: Protecting USA’s Advanced Air Assets, 2nd edition; and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in the Cyber Domain Protecting USA’s Advanced Air Assets, 1st edition. Our previous seven titles have received considerable global recognition in the field. (Nichols & Carter, 2022) (Nichols, et al., 2021) (Nichols R. K., et al., 2020) (Nichols R. , et al., 2020) (Nichols R. , et al., 2019) (Nichols R. K., 2018) (Nichols R. K., et al., 2022)https://newprairiepress.org/ebooks/1052/thumbnail.jp