Force application in time delayed bilateral teleoperation

Includes bibliographical references (pages 91-97)The distance involved in the earth-based operation of\ud a manipulator performing in geosynchronous orbit will\ud result in an unavoidable time lag in information\ud transmission. An experiment was conducted to determine the\ud effect(s) of delayed proprioceptive and visually displayed\ud force feedback information during the performance of a\ud force application task with a bilateral teleoperator.\ud Two groups of six subjects, each assigned to a\ud different force feedback information mode (proprioceptive\ud force feedback with and without the additional presentation\ud of a graphic, visual display of force), were required to\ud make contact with a task surface and using as little force\ud as possible, attempt to maintain contact during a period of 30 s. \ud The task was performed in two different directions\ud (forward and upward) with a 0.0 s and 1.0 s delay in force\ud feedback information. Direct visual access to the task\ud scene was not provided.\ud The results revealed (1) a significant and dramatic\ud degradation in the operator's ability to control force with\ud the imposition of a 1.0 s delay in force feedback\ud information, (2) a consistent and significant improvement\ud in the operator's ability to apply and manage low, stable\ud forces across both delay conditions with the additional\ud presentation of visually displayed force feedback\ud information, and (3) that force management performance with\ud the z axis was consistently superior to the x axis. The\ud implications of the findings are discussed along with\ud suggestions for further research