Teleoperation of the KSI Tentacle Manipulator for hot cell decontamination

Teleoperated robots provide an attractive alternative to exposing a human to the hazards of radioactive decontamination. The KSI Tentacle is a compliant, low-cost robotic manipulator which extends, bends, and contracts much like a natural tentacle. Recently, Kinetic Sciences Inc. delivered a teleoperated Tentacle Manipulator complete with wrist/gripper unit to Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratory at the DOE Hanford site. There, the Tentacle will perform inspection and surface decontamination in radioactive hot cells. To efficiently control the Tentacle´s six degrees of freedom, it is important that the teleoperator interface be simple and intuitive. The solution discussed here comprises two hand controllers. The first is an innovative joystick which simultaneously specifies wrist angle, extension, contraction, and bending. The second is an assembly of sliding potentiometers which lets the operator independently position each gripper finger