ITR: Modeling Synthesis and Analysis of Human-Machine Collaborative Systems

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD

Investigators

Abstract

This project models and builds systems that augment human physical capabilities for performing skilled tasks. Areas of importance for human-machine physical collaboration include micro-manipulation such as microsurgery or microassembly, and remote operation (eg in outer space or under the ocean). It is also important to study such techniques in areas where great dexterity is required, such as medical palpation. These systems are also important for training the disabled and in various educational applcations. Human-machine collaborations of this sort, where a person and a robot are both "holding" the same knife or stick, differ from traditional interfaces in their richness of sensory inputs and the coupled computation and external physical reality. The inclusion of the human in the feedback loop makes these systems more complex than older robotics applications; human expectations and reactions must be modeled and provided for in the system. Depending on the application, vision, sound, and force-feedback may be involved; reaction times may vary; and the robot manipulator may be used to add stability, micro-scale capability, and/or safety to the system.