A project to develop a telerobotic "virtual control" capability, currently underway at the University of Toronto, is described. The project centres on a new mode of interactive telerobotic control based on the technology of combining computer generated stereographic images with remotely transmitted stereoscopic video images. A virtual measurement technique, in conjunction with a basic level of ...

This artic1e introduces three concepts: 1) "te1efunctioning", 2) a contr01 method for achieving te1efunctioning, and 3) an approach to the ana1ysis of human-robot interaction when telefunctioning governs the system behavior. Telefunctioning facilitates maneuvering of loads by creating a perpetua1 sense of the load dynamics for the operator. We define telefunctioning as a robotic manipu1ation me...

In this paper, we describe QRobot, a low level real-time PC-based system for controlling PUMA robot manipulators. Specifically, we illustrate how a standard PUMA controller can be retrofitted with interface boards that allow it to be connected to an industry standard PC. All computational units are removed from the existing PUMA controller, and the PC assumes the role of computing the control s...

The research investigates a new method of control for telemanipulators called bilateral impedance control. This new method differs from previous ap"roaches in that interaction forces are used as the communication signals betWeen the master and slave rooots. The main advantage of bilateral impedance control is that it permits the arbitrary specification of desired system performance characterist...

OBJECTIVE An enhanced employee assistance program (EAP) intervention was developed that delivers comprehensive EAP outreach services to all employees who may have alcohol-related and other workplace problems; standard EAP materials traditionally targeted at white men were enhanced to include women and minorities. This study evaluates whether the enhanced EAP intervention increased EAP utilizati...