Marine Control Input Force Feedback With Virtual Stop Override
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional force feedback mechanisms in marine vessel control systems lack nuanced responses, leading to operator fatigue and increased navigational errors, highlighting a need for improved feedback control that enhances safety and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A force feedback system that progressively increases resistance as the input device approaches a virtual stop position, providing tactile cues and allowing for manual override when necessary, thereby enhancing operator control and safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional force feedback mechanisms are used in marine vessel control systems, then the system structure remains simple, but the feedback response lacks nuance leading to operator fatigue and increased navigational errors
Solution Approach 1:
The force feedback mechanism transitions from static to dynamic by continuously adjusting the magnitude and direction of feedback force based on real-time joystick position, velocity, and acceleration. The feedback force is dynamically modulated to provide progressive resistance as the joystick approaches extreme positions, creating an adaptive control system that responds nuancedly to operator inputs without requiring complex mechanical structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameters of force feedback by varying the feedback force magnitude according to the joystick's position within its range of motion. Different feedback parameters (force magnitude, direction, rate of change) are applied at different positions, creating a graduated response that enhances navigational safety while maintaining system simplicity through software-based control rather than complex mechanical mechanisms.
2Measurement precision
If force feedback is progressively increased as the input device approaches the virtual stop position, then control precision is improved, but the force feedback mechanism becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The range of motion of the joystick is segmented into multiple zones, with the virtual stop position dividing the movable range into distinct regions. Each zone has its own feedback characteristics, allowing progressive increase in feedback force as the joystick approaches the virtual stop. This segmentation enables precise control at different positions without requiring a uniformly complex feedback mechanism throughout the entire range.
Solution Approach 2:
A virtual stop position is introduced as an intermediary concept between the physical joystick limits and the feedback mechanism. This software-defined intermediate position serves as a reference point for calculating feedback force magnitude, enabling progressive and nuanced feedback adjustment without requiring complex mechanical intermediaries or additional physical components.
3Loss of information
If a virtual stop position is defined in between equilibrium and mechanical end position, then operator awareness of control limits is enhanced, but the control system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The virtual stop position implements a feedback mechanism that provides continuous tactile information to the operator about the joystick's position relative to control limits. As the joystick approaches the virtual stop, the progressively increasing feedback force informs the operator of the approaching boundary, enhancing situational awareness and preventing excessive maneuvers without requiring additional displays or alarms.
Solution Approach 2:
The mechanical end position is replaced with a software-defined virtual stop position that uses force feedback to indicate control limits. Instead of relying on physical mechanical stops or additional mechanical indicators, the system substitutes a computational model that calculates and applies appropriate feedback forces, reducing mechanical complexity while enhancing operator awareness through tactile feedback.
4Ease of operation
If force feedback reaches maximum value at virtual stop position and then reduces when manual force exceeds it, then operator override capability is maintained, but the feedback control becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies partial feedback force (maximum value) at the virtual stop position but allows excessive manual force to override this feedback. When the operator applies force exceeding the maximum feedback resistance, the system detects this excessive action and reduces or removes the feedback constraint, enabling deliberate override of the virtual stop limitation while maintaining normal feedback control for routine operations.
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 4A~4B
AI summary
A computer system (100; 600) comprising processing circuitry (102; 602) configured to control a force feedback unit (22) to progressively increase a force feedback applied to the input device (20) in response to a manual maneuvering of the input device (20) towards a virtual stop position (VSP) being defined in between an equilibrium position (EP) and a mechanical end position (MEP) of the input device (20), the virtual stop position (VSP) being a software-defined set point acting as an intermediate trigger for the input device (20), wherein the force feedback is progressively increased until it reaches a maximum force feedback at the virtual stop position (VSP); and control the force feedback unit (22) to reduce the force feedback applied to the input device (20) at the virtual stop position (VSP) in response to a force of a manual maneuvering of the input device (20) exceeding the maximum force feedback value.