Force sensing from human demonstration using a hybrid dynamical model and qualitative reasoning

This paper presents an analysis of force data that was generated by a human demonstration of a complex and asymmetrical insertion task. The human was blindfolded. And only had force sensors (i.e. fingers) available. The process is modelled using hybrid dynamics which highlighted the changes in contact as the essential parts of the assembly process. Qualitative reasoning is then applied to the force signals to identify those portions of the force signals that corresponded to either a gain or a loss of contact. The emphasis of the paper is to understand the force signals generated by the human subject. It is shown that qualitative reasoning proves to be a simple, efficient and effective means to understand the force signal by identifying the changes in contact state. Qualitative reasoning is also shown to be suitable for automated industrial assembly