Klaus B. Biggers

Design of tactile sensing systems for dextrous manipulators

Preliminary work aimed at understanding the general issues and tradeoffs governing the design of extended tactile sensing systems is reviewed. General methods for estimating the bandwidths of line-addressed and matrix-addressed systems are presented. The proposed tactile sensing system incorporates four subsystems that permit the high-speed access of tactile data: (1) a transduction scheme; (2) a preprocessing scheme; (3) a multiplexing and transmission subsystem; and (4) tactile data selection techniques. Designs for implementation at each of these levels are presented. The designs emphasize practical necessities such as simplicity, reliability, and economy, along with plans to incorporate a tactile system into the Utah/MIT dextrous hand.<<ETX>>

Insertion of an articulated human into a networked virtual environment

Most distributed interactive simulation (DIS) technology demonstrated in recent years has focused on vehicle interaction. The dismounted infantryman-the individual soldier-has been largely ignored or represented by static models. In six weeks of development, the Naval Postgraduate School, SARCOS Inc., and University of Pennsylvania, under Army Research Laboratory sponsorship, demonstrated the insertion of a fully articulated human figure into a DIS environment. This paper describes the system architecture.<<ETX>>

Low level control of the Utah/M.I.T. dextrous hand

The University of Utah Center for Engineering Design (CED) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (AI Lab) are developing a tendon operated multi-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) dextrous robotic hand for use as a research tool. The goal of the project is to design and fabricate a high performance hand which includes the operational flexibility to investigate issues related to machine based manipulation (MBM). This document will concentrate on issues related to the present implementation of the lowest level servos for the hand. The paper will first discuss the current configuration of the Utah/M.I.T. Hand including the actuation system and the internal sensor systems. It will then focus on the hardware used to implement the controller and the exact form of the control equations. Finally, future work and directions of the control aspects of the project will be discussed.

Tactile sensing system design issues in machine manipulation

Research in robotics and automation is gradually revealing the importance of tactile information in the control of machine manipulation systems. Substantial research efforts have been devoted to the construction of compact, high resolution force sensing arrays which employ sophisticated transduction and processing techniques. A variety of systems have been experimentally investigated and a widespread optimism exists regarding the potential use of complex tactile sensing systems in robotic end effectors. Unfortunately, relatively few multi-detector systems have seen actual have seen actual use in real manipulation systems. Those designs that have been applied in automatic environments have almost invariably been used in static circumstances for simple contact imaging. As a consequence of these efforts, it is becoming clear that much work remains to be done before machine touch can be understood and then used to enhance the performance of a dynamic manipulation process. The slow progress in the development of comprehensive tactile sensing systems indicates that the fundamental problem is not simply one of transducer array design and fabrication. Advancements in this area will require: (1) understanding new concepts related to contact detection and image formation as well as the use of contact information to control grasp and to aid in task planning; and (2) the development of actual sensing systems which can be used first to experimentally explore important issues in machine manipulation, and later as a basis for the future design of practical and economic tactile sensing systems. The development of appropriate tactile sensors for research applications will require an exhaustive design effort aimed at understanding the architecture of these systems at all levels, including: (1) transducers and preprocessors which acquire data indicating the type of contact between end effector surfaces and an object and which prepare that data for transmission; (2) multiplexing and transmission systems which efficiently supply sensor data to the controller; and (3) tactile focus control systems which, in order to maximize system transmission efficiency, will dynamically select which sensors will be interrogated for information which will be integrated with other sensory input. This paper reviews preliminary work aimed at understanding the general issues and trade-offs governing the design of real tactile sensing systems. Also, specific designs emphasizing practical necessities such as simplicity, reliability, and economy will be discussed along with plans to integrate this system into the Utah/MIT Dextrous Hand.

An Electropneumatic Actuation System for the Utah/MIT Dextrous Hand

The Center for Biomedical Design at the University of Utah and the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are developing a tendon-operated multiple-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) robotic hand with multichannel touch-sensing capability (see Figures 1 and 2).