Foot-Controlled Supernumerary Robotic Arm: Control Methods and Human Abilities

Supernumerary robotic limbs (SRLs) are extra robotic appendages that help a user with various tasks. A challenge with SRLs is how to operate them effectively. One solution is to use the foot to teleoperate the arm, freeing the person to use their arms for other tasks. However, unlike hand interfaces, it is not known how to create effective foot control for robotic teleoperation. A foot interface is developed for an experiment to compare position and rate control with the foot. Position control is shown to be more effective than rate control for 2D positioning tasks. Even if an effective control strategy is implemented, it is currently unknown if a person has the ability to control a robot with their foot while simultaneously using both arms. A second experiment shows that humans can operate an SRL with the foot while performing a task with both hands