Abstract

This  bachelor's thesis presents a research about the teleoperation of a wheeled mobile robot using a haptic joystick with force feedback. Conventionally, through direct visual observation or an integrated camera, the teleoperation system allows the operator to control the mobile robot in the remote environment and perform complex tasks. Therefore, the control accuracy depends on how the operator perceives the environment’s information, which may be insufficient for the suddenly appearing obstacles. The  use of a two degrees of freedom (DOF) haptic joystick is proposed to enhance the control performance by producing force feedback for the operator. First, the feedback force from the nearest obstacle is computed by using the potential field algorithm. Then, the force is executed by adjusting the stiffness of a virtual springs on each motor’s axis, making the joystick back to its equilibrium position, and alerting the obstacle proximity to the operator. The proposed teleoperation system has been verified on simulation and experiment to demonstrate the superiority of haptic control using force feedback in advancing the control performance.

Keywords

Teleoperation, Potential Field, Haptic control, Force feedback, 2-DOF joystick, Car-like mobile robot