A hybrid control method for telerobotic systems

Abstract

A hybrid control method for telerobotic systems which considers simultaneously the control and decision-making issues is presented in this paper. Telerobotic system is a typical hybrid system which contains both continuous-time and discrete event dynamics. Specifically, the robot can be considered as a continuous-time system modeled customarily by differential equations or difference equations, and the human operator whose function is to generate commands for robot located in the remote side, however, can be modeled by an automaton. As a result, telerobotic system is a heterogeneous system and the heterogeneity can be characterized by the fact that humans are intelligent while robots are fast, powerful and accurate. From the point of view of control, a hybrid framework is of key importance for the study of such a system. In this paper, the specific problems to be discussed include developing a framework in which both the robotic system and the human operator can be modeled simultaneously, and introducing how to apply this framework in a real teleoperated manipulator system. The main contribution of this paper is the development of a mathematical model which incorporates human intervention into an autonomous control model. © 2006 IEEE.