Synthetic Fixturing

Summary

The operator of the teleprogramming system is presented with a virtual reality representation of a real remote environment. The operator's actions within that simulated world are observed and translated into a sequence of robot program instructions for transmission to, and execution by, a robot at the real remote site. Synthetic fixtures provide the operator with task dependent and context sensitive visual and force clues. No attempt is made to provide realistic force feedback. Instead the intention is to provide the operator with those force and visual clues which can best aid him or her in task performance.

Fixtures are analogous to the "snap" commands used in computer aided design programs; increasing both the speed and precision with which operators can work.

Examples

The operator commands the system by using a small Puma 250 master arm which serves as both an input and output device. Visual feedback is provided by a graphical simulation which, in this case, shows a Puma 560 slave robot.

(Image) (3.4Mb Video) (1.7Mb Video)

more examples...

For more information

Craig Sayers and Richard Paul. "An operator interface for teleprogramming employing synthetic fixtures", Presence, Vol. 3, No. 4, 1994.

Craig Sayers and Richard Paul, "Synthetic fixturing", IEEE Robotics and Automation Conference Video Proceedings, 1994.

Craig Sayers and Richard Paul, "Synthetic fixturing", Advances in Robotics, Mechatronics and Haptic Interfaces (DSC-Vol.49) ASME Winter Annual Meeting, New Orleans, USA, 1993, pages 37-46.

Acknowledgements

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. BCS-89-01352, ``Model-Based Teleoperation in the Presence of Delay.'' Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.