Maneuvering system having inner force sense presenting function

Abstract

A compact, lightweight manipulation system that excels in operability and has a force feedback capability is provided.When automatic operation of a slave manipulator 105 that follows manual operation of a master manipulator 101 is bilaterally controlled by means of communication, the force acting on the slave manipulator is fed back to the master manipulator by operating the master manipulator primarily under electrically-driven speed control and the slave manipulator primarily under pneumatically-driven force control. Therefore, in the master manipulator, it is not necessary to compensate for the dynamics and the self-weight of the master manipulator in the motion range of a user, allowing highly accurate, broadband positional control, which is specific to an electrically-driven system, and in the slave manipulator, nonlinearity characteristics specific to a pneumatically-driven system presents passive softness, provides a high mass-to-output ratio, and produces a large force.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD[0001]The present invention relates to a manipulation system in which automatic operation of a slave manipulator that follows manual operation of a master manipulator is bilaterally controllable by means of communication, and particularly to a manipulation system having a force feedback capability.BACKGROUND ART[0002]In recent years, surgical operations have been widely practiced in the form of endoscopic surgery to improve QOL (Quality of Life), such as reduction in patient's pain, hospitalization period, and size of the scar associated with the surgery. Endoscopic surgery is performed in such a way that an operator inserts forceps or other related tools through a thin tube (trocar) and performs the surgery while observing images from a laparoscope. Since the scar is smaller than that in open surgery, the burden on the patient is smaller. However, since the operator moves the forceps or other related tools using the abdominal wall as a pivotal point, sufficient degre...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The invention provides a compact, lightweight manipulation system with force feedback and excellent operability. The system has a master manipulator and a slave manipulator that can automatically follow the master's operations. The master manipulator controls the slave manipulator using electrically-based speed control, while the slave manipulator uses pneumatically-based force control. This allows for highly accurate, broadband positional control that is specific to an electrically-driven system. The master manipulator includes a translation unit and an orientation unit, while the slave manipulator includes a holding unit and a grip unit. The grip unit includes pneumatic actuators and wires connected to the actuators, which directly transmit the swing motions of the actuators. This eliminates the need for a force sensor and reduces the size of the grip unit, making disinfection easier. The slave manipulator also uses compliance-based control and position-based impedance control for stable operation. The master manipulator can remotely operate the slave manipulator using the Internet.

Problems solved by technology

In the multi-DOF forceps system described in the non-patent document 1, the forceps manipulator has only three degrees of freedom, which does not allow the motion of the human hand to be reproduced.

In the multi-DOF forceps systems described in the non-patent documents 1 and 2, the forceps manipulator includes a mechanism that converts the linear motion of a pneumatic cylinder into rotational motion, so that reduction in weight of the forceps manipulator is difficult to achieve.

Further, the master and the slave portions are configured in the same manner, which does not necessarily provide an optimum structure in terms of operability.

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