Real-time haptic-teleoperated robotic system for motor control analysis

Abstract

A versatile teleoperated robotic system was created as an assessment device for testing upper-extremity motor control adaptation using different control strategies. While many systems display output virtually on a computer monitor, this system was designed to output in three-dimensional physical space. The system accepts haptic force and torque input, and outputs robot end-effector displacements and rotations in three spatial dimensions. Benefits of this system include flexibility to conduct a variety of dissimilar tasks and reality of user feedback in physical space. Two separate experiments validated the teleoperated robotic system. The first experiment tested unimanual human motor control and the second tested bimanual motor control. This teleoperated robotic system can be used as an assessment device to study neuromuscular adaptability via a variety of control strategies providing a new and functional approach to human motor control analysis.