Development of a telepresence controlled ambidextrous robot for space applications

A master-slave system is developed to evaluate the effectiveness of telepresence in space telerobotics applications. An operator uses the master´s telepresence and virtual reality equipment to control the slave. The slave is a dual-arm, dual-hand robot equipped with a stereo camera platform designed to provide an operator-centered perspective of the remote environment. The initial integration and tests of the system presented several operational issues that are resolved through a variety of shared control techniques and optimized algorithms. The resulting system provides a very flexible capability and is used to perform a range of tasks: grasping and handling toots, manipulating electronics controls, manipulating soft flexible material, and performing planetary geology tasks that involve a variety of manipulation and tool-use skills. Using this system an operator is able to complete most of these tasks in less than 2 minutes