An energy-bounding approach to rate-mode bilateral teleoperation of remote vehicles in constant time-delayed environments

This paper presents an energy-bounding approach to a rate-mode bilateral control of remote vehicles in order to guarantee the system stability in constant time-delayed telecommunication environments. The velocity error between desired and actual remote vehicle velocities is reflected in term of force in order to maintain desired velocities by the operator both during the normal driving in obstacle-free environments and when colliding with a high impedance wall. A rate-mode energy-bounding algorithm is devised for these teleoperation scenarios in order to sensitively feel the velocity difference while keeping interaction stability. Effectiveness of the proposed approach is shown by some experimental results in the simulated constant time-delayed environments for vehicles not only in free space but also in contact motions.