Augmentation of manipulation capabilities of persons with disabilities using scaled teleoperation

This paper describes several assistance approaches to use complex and variable telerobotic mapping, such that limited and irregular inputs from an individual with disabilities are mapped into complex motions. The approach presented implies several forms of assistance functions in which the human input is enhanced rather than superseded by the computer. Some complex tasks in the slave manipulator can be implemented through simple and restricted movements on the master´s side coming from a person with restricted dexterity. Three different tasks were chosen to implement the assistance functions designed to augment the teleoperation performance of motion-impaired users. A comparison is made between the implementation of the constraints on the master and the slave sides of the system. The system used consisted of the Phantom haptic device and the RRC (Robotics Research Corporation) seven-degree-of-freedom manipulator. The results demonstrated that the forms of assistance provided not only allowed users to perform complex tasks, but also, reduced the execution times and increased the operation accuracy of the chosen tasks.