A modified motion mapping method for haptic device based space teleoperation

This paper presents a modified master-slave motion mapping method for space teleoperation using haptic device with limited workspace. The method combines rate control and a variable scaled position mapping to realize accurate and efficient teleoperation. Haptic feedback in these two mapping modes is designed with emphasis on ergonomics to improve immersion of teleoperation. A dead zone is defined in master side to guarantee system stability when mode switches. We illustrate our method on teleoperation path tracking and target positioning tasks and compare the results with two widely used methods: rate control and scaled position mapping. The comparison experimental results demonstrate that the proposed hybrid motion mapping method is the most efficient method for path tracking and the most accurate one for target positioning.