Teleoperation Operator Control Unit
In our group we have built a custom teleoperation operator control unit, and made haptic devices to provide feedback to the operator and tackle challenges identified in various field experiments (attitude, traction, and traversability awareness).
Photograph credits: Photograph taken by Gonçalo Gouveia from Instituto Superior Técnico – MDN
Short Description: Easily deployable/self-contained teleoperation console: teleoperation GUI interface and haptic devices. The case has a laptop to run the MEROP teleoperation software, it holds the haptic devices for attitude and traction feedback, It also stores the joystick to control the robot and the teleoperation functionalities, a video camera and replacement parts for the haptic devices.
Haptic devices
Haptic Attitude Feedback Device
The haptic attitude feedback device enhances the operator’s attitude awareness, and perception of the terrain texture, when teleoperating an uncrewed ground vehicle through rough or unstructured environments. It uses upper limb proprioception for the attitude feedback.
Description:
– Provides absolute attitude orientation in Roll and Pitch
– Provides rate of change of attitude (angular acceleration and velocity)
– Is sensitive enough to provide terrain texture
– “Attitude Perception of an Unmanned Ground Vehicle Using an Attitude Haptic Feedback Device,” J. Corujeira, J. L. Silva and R. Ventura, 2018 27th IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN), Nanjing, China, 2018, pp. 356-363
Traction Glove
The operator feels vibration when the rover is stuck or sliding.
Traction Cylinder Device
Description:
– Custom made rotation device (cylinder)
– Operators can feel on the palm of the hand different rotation patterns when the rover loses traction, depending on the state of the rover.
– When the rover is stuck or sliding the cylinder rotates to warn the operator.
