The DLR light-weight robot is used as a haptic device within a multimodal human system interface. Due to its high dynamic performance, its workspace and its extreme light-weight design it is very suitable to feed back realistic forces from a remote or virtual world. Through this interface the operator can act intuitively in remote or virtual environments, while perceiving stereo-visual, acoustic and bi-manual haptic feedback.
A typical application for telerobotic systems is the maintenance of technical systems in hard-to-reach and/or dangerous places (e.g. space or nuclear plants). This remote maintenance is demonstrated using the mobile humanoid JUSTIN (see exhibit no. 1).
Acting intuitively in virtual worlds is presented by an assembly verification simulation. Verifying the assembly process is essential, especially for designing complex technical systems like cars or planes. An immersive multimodal human system interface allows the operator to improve mountability and maintainability by using digital prototypes instead of real ones, which shortens the time required for development and which saves money.
Contact:
Carsten PreuscheInstitut für Robotik und MechatronikDeutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.Oberpfaffenhofen, D- 82234 WesslingTel: +49 8153 28 3036Fax: +49 8153 28 1134Email: Carsten.Preusche@dlr.de