This report describes the MBAssociates Exoskeleton/Merlin Robot Interface used in th Human Sensory Feedback Lab Testbed for studies of human performance in coarse positioning tasks. The dual-armed, seven-degree-of-freedom (DOF) exoskeleton, worn by an operator, serves as a master device to control the end-effector position/orientation of a six-DOF Merlin slave robot. Kinematic position transformation matrices are detailed for both master and slave devices, as is the approach used for operator control of a six-DOF robot using a seven- DOF exoskeleton. The use of a desktop 386-33MHz type personal computer as a central system controller, user interface, and software development platform is described.

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An implantable drug delivery system includes a housing having a plurality of compartments each of which includes an opening on one side thereof and a floor generally opposite the opening. Also included are a plurality of flexible drug containment sacks, each having a mouth circumscribing an opening in the sack, with the sack being disposed in a respective compartment with the mouth affixed to the opening of that compartment to seal the inside of the sack from the inside of the compartment and to enable holding a drug formulation in the sack. A plurality of covers are disposed over a respective compartment opening for preventing the release of drug formulation contained in the sacks in the compartment covered, until ruptured or removed. A plurality of gas generating elements are disposed at the floor of a respective compartment under the sack in that compartment and are responsive to initiation signals for producing gas to force the sacks and drug formulations against the covers to thereby rupture or remove the covers and force the formulations out of the housing. An electrical circuit supplies initiation signals to the gas generating means to initiate production of the gas and thus discharge of the drug formulation.

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A teleoperation system includes a master station having a manually operable master link coupled to a master actuator which provides force resistance to operation and movement of the master link, and a slave station having a slave link moveable by a slave actuator in response to command signals. The system also includes a control unit for producing command signals in response to movement of the master link, such control unit having a position transducer for producing signals representing the position of the master link, a force transducer for producing signals representing the force applied to the master actuator by operation of the master link, a second force transducer for producing signals representing force applied to the slave link by the slave actuator, a second position transducer for producing signals representing position of the slave link, and a force controller responsive to the master link position signal, the master actuator force signal, the slave actuator force signal and the slave link position signal for producing a force command signal for supply to the slave actuator to cause the slave actuator to move the slave link in substantially faithful imitation of movement of the master link.

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This paper describes a systems approach to improving the performance of a telerobotic testbed. The testbed is the Force-Reflecting Interfaces to Telemanipulators Testing Systems (FITTS), at the Harry G. Armstrong Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory. First, the testbed hardware is described, along with an overview of the system’s communications paths. Next, the previously-determined forward kinematics for the MBA exoskeleton are outlined. Then the optimization of these kinematic equations is given. The paper also details efficient forward and inverse kinematic solutions for the Merlin industrial robots, using the method of wrist partitioning. The utility of these solutions in toto is that the interfacing of the two systems, given sufficient communications bandwidth between the MBA exoskeleton and the control computer, can now achieve the 4 ms compute time attainable by the Merlin hardware. This optimization puts the FITTS hardware at a milestone stage of completion, as the system is now capable of operating at its peak as a unilateral telerobotic testbed. Finally, future steps to extend FITTS for force reflection research are specified. Teleoperation, Robotics, Remote Control, Human Factors, Force Reflection.

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An eccentric motion motor includes a hollow cylindrical stator in which is positioned a cylindrical armature in rolling engagement with the stator. Elongate conductive strips are disposed in the inside wall of the hollow of the stator to extend substantially the length thereof, with the strips being circumferentially spaced about the stator hollow. The conductive strips are coupled to a commutator voltage source which applies a voltage to successive ones of the conductive strips to produce an electrostatic force which attracts the armature and causes it to roll in the hollow of the stator. The armature may be made either of a conductive material or a dielectric material.

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