Teleoperated Surgical Robot with Adaptive Interactive Control Architecture for Tissue Identification

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Human-Robot Interaction
• Surgical Technology

Background:

• Teleoperated surgical robotics presents challenges in remote perception for surgeons.
• Accurate perception of remote object properties is crucial for effective manipulation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose an adaptive teleoperation control framework to improve remote perception.
• To enhance the operator's intuitive perception of remote object material properties.
• To ensure stable and transparent force feedback in teleoperation systems.

Main Methods:

• Developed an adaptive teleoperation control framework with a physical human-robot interaction interface.
• Employed recursive least square (RLS) to estimate human hand stiffness for contact force compensation.
• Designed a force feedback controller incorporating a virtual energy tank for passivity.
• Validated system stability through contact tests with a hard environment.

Main Results:

• The proposed method achieved stable contact between the slave robot and a hard environment.
• Force feedback transparency was maintained during stable contact.
• Human subject experiments demonstrated a smoother, more dexterous, and intuitive user experience.
• Participants reported more accurate perception of mechanical properties compared to baseline methods.

Conclusions:

• The adaptive teleoperation framework significantly improves the user experience in surgical robotics.
• Enhanced haptic feedback and intuitive control lead to better performance and perception.
• The system offers a promising solution for advanced teleoperated surgical tasks.