An Experimental Teleoperation System for Dual-Arm Space Robotics

Abstract

An experimental teleoperation system for dual-arm space robotics has been developed. A purpose of our work using this system is a development of space robot teleoperation technologies, which can replace skills of an astronaut. Therefore, several concepts for flexibility and practicability are introduced to establish this setup. This system is composed of the space system, the ground system and the software development system. The space system includes dual 7-DOF manipulators, multipurpose hands, force/torque sensors and an image processing system. The ground system is composed of a master arm and a graphic workstation. A novel developed 6-DOF haptic interface device is employed as a master arm. To achieve an effective teleoperation ability, new concepts of virtual grip and virtual ball are introduced.