Experimental Analysis of Mobile-Robot Teleoperation via Shared Impedance Control

In this paper, Internet-based teleoperation of mobile robots for obstacle avoidance is analyzed. A shared impedance-control scheme is presented, and the results of an experimental study for the evaluation of the effects of different teleoperation parameters are reported. In the experimental study, the effects of time delay, operator training, image-display alternatives (virtual model versus real images), viewpoint, and force-reflection method were studied. For this purpose, several hypotheses were formulated and tested through the experiments using the introduced quantitative and qualitative measures. A fuzzy force-reflection controller is also proposed as an alternative force-reflection technique, and its performance is compared with a conventional proportional-derivative-type force-reflection method. The experimental scheme was implemented using MATLAB XPC Target and Simulink. The results could serve as guidelines in the design of teleoperation systems for obstacle avoidance and could also provide directions for further investigations.