COLLISION CONTROL IN TELEOPERATION BY VIRTUAL FORCE REFLECTION. AN APPLICATION TO THE ROBTET SYSTEM.

Abstract: Well known collision avoiding approaches used in automatic robot path planning are also useful in teleoperation systems when moving in hazardous environments. In these cases, it is very useful to define forbidden zones in order to avoid dangerous situations for both the equipment and the operator. An efficient collision detection algorithm, based on the generation of virtual forces, which avoids dangerous situations in teleoperated robots, is presented in this paper. Whenever the operator moves the robot to a previously declared forbidden zone, the algorithm will give the order to generate a virtual force on the human operator arm in real time, not allowing to keep further with the movement. The algorithm has been successfully applied to a robot system for live-line maintenance (ROBTET) substituting the time consuming operation of the placement of insulated covers by a software protection. By this manner, shortcuts and any unwanted collision are immediately avoided.