Cartesian Control of Force- Reflecting Hand Controllers

Cartesian control algorithms are presented for 6-dof force-reflecting hand-controllers (FRHCs) used for simultaneous operator pose (position and orientation) or rate commands to a telerobotic system and wrench (force/moment) reflection to the operator. The master and slave need not be kinematically-similar because the information is transferred in Cartesian space. The task wrench dominates while features are provided to reduce operator loading: end-effector/payload and FRHC gravity compensation, input channels to separate 6-dof inputs with one hand, constant-force return-to-center, and FRHC damping to improve relative stability. Experimental results show that the algorithms are effective for reduced contact wrenches. Though the focus is teleoperated manipulator systems, the methods in this paper are suitable for kinesthetic haptic display in virtual environments as well.