A real-time telerobot simulation and control environment through parallel processing

Telerobot systems require the commitment of robots and provision of mockup environments to permit training and facilitate the development of new techniques. Simulation in real time can test control strategies. Each of the possible configurations for an operation can be tested and the response can be used to produce optimum path and task plans. Parallel processing on transputers is considered to perform real-time dynamic simulation, for a seven degree-of-freedom robot, by a balanced division of the Newton-Euler formulation. Interfaces are provided to the actual hardware through both an advanced transputer/robot hardware interface and also a graphical interface to the user on a low-cost PC displaying real-time force and position information