In traditional teleoperation systems, the human operator is saddled with two distinct tasks: 1) moving the robot arm to its desired position, and 2) avoiding obstacles that can obstruct the robot arm manipulator. To accomplish these tasks, an area of current teleoperation research concentrates on providing the operator with as much input information about the task site as possible using, for ex...

A unique space robot is being developed by JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency). Name of the robot is REX-J (Robot Experiment on ISS/JEM) and its mission is to evaluate technologies needed to realize the Astronaut Support Robot (Astrobot) and the next generation space robots (NGSR). Uniqueness of the robot is its locomotion method which is based on tethers. The robot is floated by tethers ...

Abstract In this article, we present a continuously tunable stiffness arm for safe physical human–robot interactions. Compliant joints and compliant links are two typical solutions to address safety issues interactions via introducing mechanical compliance robotic systems. While extensive studies explore variable joints/actuators, much less studied. This article details the design modeling of w...

Force control is very important for many practical manipulation tasks of robot manipulators, such as, assembly, grinding, deburring that associate with interaction between the end-effector of the robot and the environment. Force control of the robot manipulator can be break down into two categories: Position/Force Hybrid Control and Impedance Control. The former is focused on regulation of both...