Teleoperability and dynamic teleoperability

Teleoperated systems are used in many hostile environments and are therefore very complex. Current design procedures select kinematic configurations based on the designer's past experience and some standard practice guidelines. Yet, no unifying theory exists to quantifiably discern between competing kinematic designs and guide in the selection of key operational strategies such as indexing, length scaling, and mass scaling. Manipulability and dynamic manipulability theory attempt to present a quantitative measure which can be used to evaluate a robotic manipulator. This thesis expands this theory to teleoperability and dynamic teleoperability which can be used to evaluate teleoperated manipulator systems. The mathematical developments of teleoperability and dynamic teleoperability are presented. The behavior of the teleoperability and dynamic teleoperability measures in various operational conditions is presented. Special attention is given to the effects of indexing, length scaling, and mass scaling between the master and slave. Simple experimental results validate the theory. Teleoperability, dynamic teleoperability and the associated ellipsoids and measures are useful concepts for the design, implementation, and selection of teleoperated systems. Specifically, this theory can be used in the selection of master and slave configurations, guide in control system design, and provide insight into necessary and/or helpful operational features for teleoperated and telerobotic systems.