Human factors and telerobotics : tools and approaches for designing remote robotic workstation displays

Abstract

A methodology is created for designing and testing an intuitive synthesized telerobotic workstation display configuration for controlling a high degree of freedom dexterous manipulator for use on the International Space Station. With the construction and maintenance of the International Space Station, the number of Extravehicular Activity (EVA) hours is expected to increase by a factor of four over the current Space Shuttle missions, resulting in higher demands on the EVA crewmembers and EVA crew systems. One approach to utilizing EVA resources more effectively while increasing crew safety and efficiency is to perform routine and high-risk EVA tasks telerobotically. NASA's Johnson Space Center is developing the state-of-the-art dexterous robotic manipulator. An anthropomorphic telerobot called Robonaut is being constructed that is capable of performing all of the tasks required of an EVA suited crewmember. Robonaut is comparable in size to a suited crewmember and consists of two 7 DOF arms, two 12 DOF hands, a 6+ DOF "stinger tail", and a 2+ DOF stereo camera platform. Current robotic workstations are insufficient for controlling highly dexterous manipulators, which require full immersion operator telepresence. The Robonaut workstation must be designed to allow an operator to intuitively control numerous degrees of freedom simultaneously, in varying levels of supervisory control and for all types of EVA tasks. This effort critically reviewed previous research into areas including telerobotic interfaces, human-machine interactions, microgravity physiology, supervisory control, force feedback, virtual reality, and manual control.

(cont.) A methodology is developed for designing and evaluating integrated interfaces for highly dexterous and multi-functional telerobots. In addition a classification of telerobotic tasks is proposed. Experiments were conducted with subjects performing EVA tasks with Space Station hardware using Robonaut and a Robonaut simulation (also under development). Results indicate that Robonaut simulation subject performance matches Robonaut performance. The simulation can be used for training operators for full-immersion teleoperation and for developing and evaluating future telerobotic workstations. A baseline amount of Situation Awareness time was determined and reduced using the display design iteration.