Separated master system to decrease operational force of bilateral control

This paper proposes separated master system to decrease operational force of bilateral control in free motion. Operational force in bilateral control is not desirable because it prevent accurate reproduction of remote environmental force. Thus to decrease operational force is important. The master system consists of a grip part and an actuator part. A human operator manipulates the grip part. In free motion, both the actuator part of master robot and the slave robot track the grip part. With separating actuator, human operator feels fewer inertial force and friction when in free motion. When the slave robot contacts an object, the grip part contacts the actuator part and the operator feels reaction force from the object. The actuators tracked grip motion and the law of action and reaction was realized in experiment.