Collision control in teleoperation by virtual force reflection. An application to the ROBTET system

Well known collision avoiding approaches used in automatic robot path planning are also applied in teleoperation systems when moving in hazardous environments. In such cases, it is very useful to define forbidden zones in order to avoid dangerous situations for both the equipment and the operator. An efficient collision detection algorithm, based on the generation of virtual forces, which avoids dangerous situations in teleoperated robots, is presented. Whenever the operator moves the robot to a predefined forbidden zone, the algorithm will generate a virtual force on the human operator arm in real time, not allowing the operator to keep further with the movement. The algorithm has been successfully applied to a robot system for live-line maintenance (ROBTET) substituting the time consuming operation of the placement of insulated covers by a software protection. By this approach, short-cuts and any unwanted collision are immediately avoided