The growing number of robotics application fields, mainly in services, has led to the increase of new needs as well as the development of new facilities for teleoperation. Research in the design of more efficient and easy to use human-machine interfaces has propitiated the development of friendly communication systems such as those based on voice or gesture recognition. This work describes a vision based human-machine communication system that allows a computer or a control unit to “see and track” the position of the hands of a human. Thus, the vision system can be used as a virtual exoskeleton for simple telemanipulation tasks.

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Many of the current implementations of exoskeletons for the lower extremities are conceived to either augment the user’s load-carrying capabilities or reduce muscle activation during walking. Comparatively little research has been conducted on enabling an exoskele-ton to increase the agility of lower-limb movements. One obstacle in this regard is the inertia of the exoskeleton’s mechanism, which tends to reduce the natural frequency of the human limbs. A control method is presented that produces an approximate compensation of the inertia of an exoskeleton’s mechanism. The controller was tested on a statically mounted, single- DOF exoskeleton that assists knee flexion and extension. Test subjects performed multiple series of leg-swing movements in the context of a computer- based, sprint-like task. A large initial acceleration of the leg was needed for the subjects to track a virtual target on a computer screen. The uncompensated inertia of the exoskeleton mechanism slowed down the transient response of the subjects’ limb, in comparison with trials performed without the exoskeleton. The subsequent use of emulated inertia compensation on the exoskeleton allowed the subjects to improve their transient response for the same task.

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The core objective of this project is the development of an exoskele-ton controller for a prototype robotic arm, which is stand-alone, portable, programmable, and easy to maintain and use. The design and implementation utilizes a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) to meet this objective. At present, exoskeleton controllers of robotic manipulators are usually bulky, stationary and usually dependent on a personal computer or mainframe. The product of this project can become a basis for future exoskeleton controller designs, where it can make a significant impact on almost everyone espe-cially in industry and research. Such designs will be invaluable in automated factory processes, construc-tion, toxic waste handling such as maybe needed at the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute and hospitals handling radioactive materials, operations in a vacuum environment, honey-bee culturing and even deep sea or space exploration. Furthermore, the design can bring a complex technology to a level that everyone can comprehend, and can promise a full utilization of such. Based on existing designs and technologies studied, a lightweight, portable and easy-to-wear exoskeleton controller was constructed. This exoskeleton coupled with the use of an FPGA to serve as the system’s main processor will make the controller of a robotic arm easier to move, handle, understand, use, and maintain. With the whole setup completed, the programmable robotic arm controlled by an exoskeleton controller is yet another important achievement in the field of robotics.

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