This project is done under the Robotics and Mechatronics group at the University of Twente, specifically for i-Botics. i-Botics is an independent research centre made by the University of Twente and TNO, which specialises in improving robotics technology. One important research area for i-Botics is telerobotics, controlling robots from a distance. In this project it is the goal to use an Emika Franka Panda 7-DOF robot as an input device with haptic feedback for a KUKA LWR 4+ robot. This allows a person to control a robot much better due to an increased amount of feedback beyond just visual feedback.
Currently it is possible to control a simulation of the KUKA robot using the Panda robot, including haptic feedback on a simulated obstacle. Additionally, it is possible to control the KUKA robot with a desktop controller. The problem with this controller is that it has a smaller range of movement than the KUKA and does not have haptic feedback on all movement axes. One goal of the project is to transfer the simulation of the Panda robot controlling the KUKA robot, to a real-life demo.
One future goal for the demo is to integrate the usage of a Dexmo exoskeleton-glove with the control of the robot. This allows the human controlling the robot, to manipulate the KUKA robot’s end-effector by changing their hand-movements. For this, a safe mechanical connection between the exoskeleton-glove and the Panda robot already exists. This mechanical connection, called the mechanical clutch, will be included in this project.
In short the goals of this project are:
• Create a demo of the Emika Franka Panda robot being used as haptic feedback input device for the KUKA LWR 4+ using the current simulations.
• Integrate the mechanical clutch in the demo including safety features