Bilateral Teleoperation of Aerial Manipulator with Hybrid Mapping Framework for Physical Interaction

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Human-Robot Interaction
• Control Systems

Background:

• Bilateral teleoperation enables complex tasks in inaccessible environments.
• Challenges in mobile manipulator teleoperation include limited master workspace and master-slave workspace asymmetry.
• Existing systems require frequent mode switches, hindering seamless operation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an innovative teleoperation control framework for mobile manipulators.
• To address challenges posed by workspace heterogeneity and limited master robot workspace.
• To enable intuitive and adaptive control for aerial manipulators in physical tasks.

Main Methods:

• Introduced a 7 Degrees of Freedom (DOFs) upper limb exoskeleton as a master control device.
• Proposed a hybrid heterogeneous teleoperation control framework with a variable mapping scheme.
• Implemented gesture-driven mode switching integrating position and rate control modalities.

Main Results:

• Successfully validated a mode-switching algorithm, demonstrating stability during transitions.
• Achieved a position tracking Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 7.7% on the X-axis and 5.2% on the Y-axis.
• The system effectively integrated position and rate control for adaptive transitions.

Conclusions:

• The proposed framework enhances teleoperation for mobile manipulators, particularly aerial ones.
• Gesture-driven adaptive mode switching provides intuitive and stable control.
• This approach has significant potential for Unmanned Aircraft System (UAM) inspection and physical operations.