WO2011107278A1

WO2011107278A1 - Method and device for controlling a robot

Info

Publication number: WO2011107278A1
Application number: PCT/EP2011/001045
Authority: WO
Inventors: Marcel Reese
Original assignee: Marcel Reese
Priority date: 2010-03-02
Filing date: 2011-03-02
Publication date: 2011-09-09
Also published as: DE102010023914A1

Abstract

The invention relates to the control of a master by a user. Such a master is in particular a robot or a virtual being. The master is controlled by signals from sensors that are mounted on the user or are located in the surroundings thereof and can record positions and movements of the user. Furthermore, on the master, or in the surroundings thereof, further sensors are provided that can record the positions and movements of the master. Signals from said sensors are used to control movement sequences of the user. The invention is characterised in that said sensors detect stances, positions, movements, forces and/or twisting moments of at least one body part of the user, and parts of the master can be moved correspondingly. The invention can be used for example, in teleoperations.

Description

METHOD AND DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING A ROBOT

The present invention relates to the control of a governor by a user. A corresponding user can be a human or another living being. The governor to be controlled may be a real machine, a virtual machine, or some other virtual creature. A preferred machine is a real or virtual robot.

This invention relates to the field of motion simulation. Simulators are known, for example, as flight simulators for pilot training or for use in gaming halls. Different movements are applied to a human body while displaying a simulated

Surroundings. It is also possible that appropriate means also generates appropriate sounds and the human body as sound and / or

Body waves are supplied.

Also known is the field of "virtual reality" where human

Sensory organs certain optical, acoustic and / or haptic stimuli or odors are simulated, whereby a person is stimulated certain

To perform actions or movements.

In addition, robots are known that due to control signals

can perform different movements. Depending on how many joints with associated axes and actuators such a robot, they can support or perform very specific activities, such as in the context of a production process, in the cleaning of a household or the like.

In particular, when the fine motor skills in the field of "hands" are optimized for robots, they can also move correspondingly accurately.To coordinate such robot movements sensors and control units are also known which control or regulate these movements.

Furthermore, so-called exoskeletons are known. They are similar to orthotics that are for the support of individual limbs, such as for a hand or a

CONFIRMATION COPY Knee joint, may be suitable. Such an exoskeleton is described for example in DE 10 2007 035 401 A1. Depending on the similarity to the human body, a distinction is made between anthropomorphic and non-anthropomorphic exoskeletons. Exoskeletons can support or enhance movements of the wearer by actively driving joints on the exoskeleton by servomotors. These are driven by sensor signals that are a measure of

Movements that the wearer wants to perform or perform. Such signals may be generated, for example, due to electrodes attached to the skin and receiving electrical impulses from muscles due to measured distances, forces and torques between the user and the exoskeleton, and / or due to positions, speeds, accelerations, forces, and torques Actuators of the exoskeleton. Exoskeletons, which are a type of robotic suit, are known by Raytheon Company (www.ravtheon.com, last accessed June 2010). These are essentially a portable robot that reinforces the power, endurance and maneuverability of the user. They include a combination of sensors, actuators and controls, allowing the user to carry a human on his back or lift heavy loads hundreds of times without getting tired. On the other hand, this suit is agile enough that its users can play football, climb a staircase and the like.

From the article "Development of Teleoperation Master System with a Kinetic Sensation of Presence", Hitoshi Hasunuma et al., ICAT '99 (see

http://www.yrsi.org/ic-at/papers/99053.pdf; last call June 2010), it is known to control a robot by the natural use of the arms of a user and under bilateral haptic control. The user therefore feels the forces acting on the robot and can control it. Only the movements of the arms, the hands and the posture of the user's head are transferred to the robot. For this purpose, an exoskeleton with 7 degrees of freedom (dof = dof = degrees of freedom) is used for the arms and a different exoskeletal structure for the hands. Vision, hearing and rapid movements of the body's center of gravity transferred from the robot to the user. A force feedback is on hands and arms.

The movement of the robot is in the said article by means of a

Computer mouse controlled by which the user dictates the direction of movement of the robot. The leg joints and their balance are controlled autonomously by the robot.

It is thus the object of the present invention to provide a control of a

Governor, such as a machine or a virtual being, allow, at which the governor understands essential movements that are given by a user.

This object is achieved by the method according to the main claim and by the device according to the first device claim. By the

Dependent claims are given advantageous embodiments.

According to the invention, signals are detected and evaluated by user sensors whose signals are a measure of positions, postures and / or movements of individual body parts of the user and / or a measure of the forces or torques acting on them. Such sensors may, for example, be in direct or indirect contact with the user body and be designed as stretch marks, electrical sensors for muscle impulses or the like. Furthermore, sensors are also possible which are located at some distance from the user and detect their positions and / or movements visually, acoustically, capacitively or the like.

The user sensor signals are used to control governor actuators that bring or move a governor in a predetermined position accordingly Such a governor can in particular a real machine, a virtual

Machine or another virtual being. A preferred machine is a real or virtual robot. Such a position may be, for example, sitting, lying or the like. A movement can go, run etc. be. Appropriate actuators may include electric motors, but also hydraulic or pneumatic elements. The user sensor signals can also be detected and processed and used to control user actuators. This serves in particular when using an exoskeleton to reduce the user perceived weight forces and dynamic forces exerted by the exoskeleton on the user.

There are also governor sensors that detect the positions and movements of the governor and / or on him from the outside or by themselves acting forces, torques or deformations. These sensors can basically be designed and arranged similar to user sensors. Their signals are detected and processed in such a way that they serve to control user actuators that influence the user or individual parts of his body accordingly. Such an influence can on the one hand be the cause of a posture or movement by the application of forces and torques. But it is also possible that the user such forces, torques or deformations are exercised, which are comparable to a haptic feedback when touching an object. The governor sensor signals can also be recorded and processed and used to control governor actuators. This serves in particular to make the user not feel the weight and the dynamic forces of the governor.

So that the user can control the governor in a simple manner, it is further provided that the user sensors detect the positions, positions, movements, forces and / or torques of at least one body part, such as a leg, an arm, a hand, a foot or the like, and a part, ie leg, arm, hand, foot or the like, the governor is moved accordingly. In this case, the controlling body part and the controlled part may be similar, such as arm-arm, leg-leg and the like. However, it is also conceivable that they

are disparate, so that, for example, a user's hand controls a governor's leg. The use of an exoskeleton is particularly advantageous if suitable actuators and / or sensors are contained therein. It is particularly advantageous if the user and the governor wear or use identical exoskeletons.

For an optimal motion simulation it is necessary that the user can be moved as a whole or placed in a certain position. Such a movement can be translational - like forward / backward, right / left, up / down - or rotatory. For a suitable motion simulator is provided in one embodiment of the invention. This may for example be designed as (a) gimbals in conjunction with a translation unit, (b) stewart motion platform, (c) multi-axis industrial robots or (d) more spherical

Motion Simulator, as described, for example, in the article "Novel 3-DOF Reconfigurable Spherical Motion Generator with Unlimited Workspace", Shiu Hang Ip et al., ACRA 2009 (see

http://www.araa.asn.au/acra/acra2009/papers/pap145s1.pdf; last retrieval June 2010), in conjunction with a translation unit, or by other known motion simulators. When controlling the motion simulator, a motion-cueing process can be used. This makes it possible to transmit the pose of the robot to the user in such a way that the working space of the motion simulator is not left, but nevertheless a realistic overall impression is generated for the user. Furthermore, it can be provided in the control of the motion simulator that the spatial position and the position - and possibly their derivatives, such as speeds and accelerations - the governor are mapped to the user.

If the governor is designed as a real robot, or other real machine, various teleoperations are possible. For this, the user can control a robot, for example, in a life-threatening environment, such as in a radioactive space, in a combat mission or the like. The task of such a system is therefore the applicability of real robots to areas and To broaden problems in which they can act autonomously or semi-autonomously, not or only to a limited extent. This includes, for example, locomotion of a robot in desert sand, swamps, forests, complex situations in buildings, interaction with sensitive organisms, etc. Complex movements such as

Seals, close combat, jumping, etc. are possible. Much of the

Control, perception, interpretation of the data and also the

Decisions are now made directly and in real time by the user, such as a human being. Since the robot transmits its state, such as movements, forces, torques, etc., to the user via said sensors and actuators, it can adequately control the robot through its body control, which is possibly assisted by an exoskeleton. additional

Information can be obtained by the user on the basis of optical, acoustic or other impressions, which are recorded by means of suitable sensors in the area of the robot and appropriately processed and forwarded to the user.

In the field of teleoperation, various techniques are known, such as from the Springer Handbook of Robotics, Spinger, 2008, to kinematically same,

kinematically similar and kinematically different robots to use by a user at least one of the robots (master) to control the other robot (slave). In the context of the present invention, the master robot is preferably designed as an exoskeleton for this purpose. The number of degrees of freedom of the robots may generally be different. A distinction is made between unilateral and bilateral methods, whereby in the former only control signals are sent from the master to the slave, and in the latter also signals from the slave to the master. The latter allows the generation of a

Force feedback to the user. He can thereby the environment or the

Moving state of the slave experienced by the master. The more realistic the user's impression of the slave's environment is, the greater is the "transparency" of the tele-operative connection, including the type of control and communication involved, and the bilateral teleoperation also allows multiple users to haptically interact or use multiple masters and a shared slave interact with the environment, especially the slave and slave environment can be simulated, so be virtually trained. It is also important to the user of the sensation of the immediate

To free properties of the master and slave robot. That's how he should be

preferably not their weight forces, inertial forces and apparent forces as well as others caused by movements and accelerations

feel dynamic forces. Possibly. The body weight of the user or of parts of the user should also be borne by the robots. Both, the (partial) isolation of the user of master and slave properties, as well as the (partial) removal of his body weight by the robot, is established by so-called gravity compensation.

Teleoperation methods commonly also use the scaling of distances and forces. This is especially important for non-identical master and slave robots. This means that a user can also experience larger or smaller forces and other distances (also angular distances) at the master than at the slave.

Methods of force feedback are in principle with a variety of

Realized control strategies. So one differentiates among other things position position, position force and force position methods (master slave convention). Position-force control here means that the actual position of the master is transmitted to the slave, which uses it as a setpoint around its position

take. The forces and / or torques measured by the slave are then transmitted to the master, where they are used as desired forces and transmitted to the user by actuators. The methods can only be realized with actuator sensors (angle, angular velocity, torque) or with additional force and torque sensors.

For the user, the invention then becomes easily applicable if it controls the reality or the virtual reality by the governor according to their laws. That means he has to get used to it. A task of the user would then be to regulate, for example, the balance of the governor. The governor will usually have a different geometry and body dynamics than the user. If, however, the body dynamics of the governor is transferred to the user through the use of a movement simulator, the latter notes, for example, by means of an equally accelerated movement of the head forward, that the governor begins to fall over. He must compensate for this with appropriate measures, such as shifting the governor's weight, using his own legs, which control the legs of the governor until the acceleration stops. The user feels the ground on the governor's side with his feet without standing on one side, mediated by the bilateral teleoperative connection and the feet of the user exoskeleton. The user can never fall over himself in the exoskeleton in the movement simulator, as long as his governor does not fall over. In order to facilitate the adaptation, also dynamic and static forces of the governor can be passed on to the user. In general, to optimize the user's impression, any linear or non-linear transformation between the parameter spaces of the governor and the user can be made. This can be used to speed up habituation or improve customization.

The regulation of the exoskeleton and the motion simulator can be effected by applying proven concepts and techniques of machine and robot kinematics as well as teleoperation. The simulation of virtual worlds based on physical models has found widespread use in computer games, scientific simulation and film. The same hardware and software can be used for efficient simulation of the necessary control signals and also for image calculation. The governor can also be designed as a virtual being, as virtual

Robot or virtual creature in a video game or the like. Then, the invention can serve the user to certain movements in To practice dependency on different environments that can also be represented virtually.

Another embodiment of the invention allows the user to experience predetermined influences. These can be movement sequences or other haptic impressions. Thus, the user can experience a kind of haptic film, which can be supplemented accordingly by means of suitable output means for optical, acoustic and other signals. In the interaction between the user and the robot may be too

Time delays occur, which can be caused in particular by the response times of sensors and actuators, computing speed of control units and transit times of the various signals. These

Time delays can be largely compensated if time derivatives of the quantities measured by the sensors are evaluated. However, since such an estimation can lead to problems in particular when the robot comes into contact with an object of its environment, in a further development of the invention sensors, such as ultrasound transducers, for example, are provided, which quickly detect the distance to the object in the manner of a parking aid , By using this data for contact prediction, the impression of a contact and a realistic feedback can be generated in time for the user.

A further embodiment of the invention provides that the user a

Movement in partial or complete weightlessness is simulated. For this purpose, the use of the master unit in a liquid, using suitable breathing means and possibly a (liquid-filled) Suit, provided so that the weight of the user is already canceled by the buoyancy of the liquid at least partially. This situation is very similar to weightlessness in space, but differs in the high damping of any movement through the fluid. To compensate for this attenuation at least partially, the actuators that move his body or individual parts of his body, driven accordingly to support movements. Thereby, for example, sub-water motion with scaled damping or motion in space without damping or the like can be simulated. The transparency of the teleoperation with real or virtual machines, real or virtual robots or virtual beings in situations in space or under water or the like can thus be improved.

A further embodiment of the invention provides that the user in the master (user side) influences another user in the slave (governor side). Both users are preferably humans. Preferably, the master is designed here as an exoskeleton with rototranslator and the slave as a freely movable exoskeleton. The master and slave are interconnected by a bilateral haptic connection of all or some body parts and other signals, such as acoustic or the like. The degree of influence of the master by the slave and vice versa is controlled by the control unit, under default of the master and / or slave side. This makes it possible to accompany a user of a freely movable exoskeleton on the slave side from a distance and to support or to take over the control of the exoskeleton in whole or in part. This embodiment is particularly interesting for training purposes in sports exercises or other tasks with high physical share.

A further embodiment of the invention provides that several users interact in their own user units via a common control unit with the same governor. Both users thus experience the state of the governor and can generally influence him cooperatively but to a different degree. Users can generally influence different functions and body parts of the governor. The users can thus share tasks of governing the governor, coping with them, or even participating in an observational and advisory role. This embodiment is particularly interesting for training purposes in sports exercises or other tasks with a high physical share. Further features and advantages of the invention are explained below with reference to preferred embodiments. Show

Fig. 1 A system for controlling a robot by means of an exoskeleton

Fig. 2 is a side view of a user in the exoskeleton

3 shows a rototranslator

4 shows the user with exoskeleton in the rototranslator.

FIG. 1 symbolically illustrates a system that allows a user 10 to control a robot 110. The user 10 is preferably a human with a corresponding body comprising a trunk 12 and arms 14, legs 16, feet 17 and a head 18. On the body of the user 10, a user exoskeleton 20 is attached, which is drawn hatched. This is located in particular on the arms 14, on the fuselage 12, on the back 13 (see FIG. 2), on the legs 16 and on the feet 17, which in the preferred embodiment do not touch the ground but only stop on the user exoskeleton 20. This is designed such that it partially or completely encloses the body parts mentioned in such a way that it can detect and also influence movements of the body. Around the head 18 is a helmet 22, which in the preferred embodiment is part of the exoskeleton 20 and in which a visual display unit 24 and an acoustic display unit 26 are included. The optical

Display unit 24 generates different displays for the right and left eyes, such as LCD displays, projection devices, or the like, and thus can provide a stereo effect. The acoustic reproduction unit 26 preferably comprises two headphones or loudspeakers, which may allow the user 10 a surround sound. Furthermore, a microphone 28

provided, via which the user 10 acoustic signals, in particular language, can enter.

The robot 110 is here designed as a humanoid robot consisting essentially of a robot exoskeleton with corresponding body parts, such as robot body 112, robot arms 1 4, robot legs 16, robot feet 17 and robot head 118. The robotic exoskeleton is at this preferred

Embodiment largely mechanically identical to the user exoskeleton 20. The robot exoskeleton is connected to a work space which is subdivided into various chambers, which can be roughly designated as the trunk work space 130, the arms work space 132, the leg work space 134 and the head work space 136. In these work spaces, operating materials , Aggregates, tools and means for

Control, power supply and the like can be accommodated.

The robot head 118 includes a camera system 122, which preferably consists of two individual cameras mounted at the locations where

usually the eyes are located. This makes it possible to record stereo images. In the mouth area there is a loudspeaker 124 which can emit acoustic signals into the environment of the robot 110. In the ear area is a

Microphone system 126 that can pick up sounds from the environment. It is particularly advantageous if the microphone system is designed as a dummy head stereomicrophone. The nose area contains olfactory sensors 128 that can pick up olfactory signals from the environment. For these sensors 128 work chemically, optically and / or the like.

The user 10 and the robot 110 are connected to one another via an electronic control, which is indicated only symbolically in FIGS. 1, 2 and in particular contains an electronic control unit 30. This receives, inter alia, via a first sensor line 32 signals from sensors which are present on the side of the user 10 and are indicated together in FIG. 1 by the reference NS. These user sensors NS include, in particular, the microphone 28 and user body sensors, not shown, which can absorb movements, spatial position, forces and / or torques of the user 10 or his body parts. In addition to trunk 12, back 13, arms 14, legs 16, feet 17 and head 18, these body parts also include other parts of the body, in particular the hands, the fingers and the like. These user body sensors may be at least partially contained in the exoskeleton 20. It is also conceivable that they are arranged between the body and the exoskeleton 20 or in other places. These sensors can be designed in many different ways, such as pressure sensors, strain gauges, current sensors in electric motors or the like. The controller 30 also receives signals from sensors provided on the robot 110 side via a second sensor line 33. These are indicated in Fig. 1 with RS and include in particular the camera system 122, the microphone system 126, the odor sensors 128 and not shown robot body sensors that record movements of the robot 110 and can be arranged and configured similar to the user described above. body sensors. The electronic control unit 30 outputs various signals. These include first all signals that drive on the part of the user 10 user output units ND via a first playback line 34, such as the optical display unit 24 or the acoustic playback unit 26. In addition, the user 10 via a control line 36 first signals are emitted User actuators, not shown here, can control NA. These may be at least partially part of the exoskeleton 20 and may be designed so that they can exert pressure and deformations on different parts of the body of the user. They may also be arranged and designed so that movements of user body parts can be initiated or inhibited. For example servomotors, hydraulic or pneumatic elements or the like are conceivable. The use of hydraulic and pneumatic elements offers the possibility of tempering the liquids or gases used and thereby additionally giving the user, or possibly also via other means, a temperature feedback. Since in the preferred embodiment, the helmet 22 is part of the exoskeleton 20, and the attitude of the head 18 can be detected and also influenced.

Also on the part of the robot 110, the electronic control unit 30 outputs various signals. These include the signals output via a second reproduction line 35 for the robot output units RD, to which in particular the loudspeaker system 124 belongs. Further optical and / or acoustic output units are conceivable. In addition, control signals for robot actuators RA are output via a second control line 37. This includes in particular positioning elements within the robot 110, which can cause or inhibit movements of robot body parts.

Fig. 2 shows symbolically a side view of the user 10 and other elements of the system. It can be clearly seen that in the preferred embodiment, the user body parts in particular at the back and on the outer sides of the

Exoskeleton 20 are surrounded.

The electronic control unit 30 receives various sensor signals from the exoskeleton 20 and also outputs various control signals to associated actuators, so that the user body can be influenced accordingly. In places where the body reacts particularly sensitively, such as on hands 10a, on the elbow 10b or on the knee joints 10c, the sensors and actuators of the

Exoskeleton 20 designed accordingly.

In addition, a user camera 38 and a user motion sensor 39 are connected to the control unit 30. These record optical and / or acoustic signals from the environment of the user 10. In the preferred

Embodiment, the camera 38 is arranged and configured so that it can capture the facial expressions of the user.

The exemplary embodiment serves to enable a substantial part of the body of user 10 to be used to control the robot 1 10, by sensors being arranged directly or indirectly on the user body, which sensors can detect as many movements or other reactions as possible. This is supplemented by further sensors, such as camera 38 and motion sensor 39, which are arranged in the area of the user 10 and also detect its movements. In addition, further signals from the area of the user 10 can be detected, such as by means of the microphone 28, which can be reproduced in a corresponding manner on the part of the robot 110.

However, the embodiment is not only for the control of the robot 110 by the user 10, but conversely also signals on the part of Robot 110 are supplied to the user in a suitable manner. These include in particular the effects on the user body by actuators, which may be part of the exoskeleton 20. This is supplemented by acoustic, optical, olfactory and / or gustatory signals, which are detected by suitable sensors in the area of the robot 110 and fed to the user 10 via corresponding output means.

However, the means described in FIGS. 1 and 2 can not give the user 10 an optimal impression of the position, speed and acceleration of the robot 110. In addition, a motion simulator is necessary.

Fig. 3 shows a preferred example of a suitable motion simulator. This is a rototranslator 40, which contains a first part 40a and a second part 40b. The first part 40a is a translation unit that allows three degrees of freedom due to their Cartesian structure along the axes, x, y and z. The second part 40b is a rotation unit, which also allows three degrees of freedom and is designed here as a gimbal. The preferred embodiment, to avoid the so-called gimbal-lock effect 4 axes 42, 44, 46 and 48, on which rotatable elements 43, 45, 47 and 49 are attached. In the preferred embodiment, the

Elements 43, 45, 47 a ring-like shape and the fourth element 49 is almost semi-annular. On the underside there is an attachment point 50, on which the user 10 can be arranged. This can be done, for example, by attaching the exoskeleton 20 or a user capsule at point 50, or in a similar manner.

Fig. 4 shows a preferred embodiment of such attachment. In this case, the exoskeleton 20, with which the user 10 is firmly connected, is fastened to the back side via a fastening element 52 and a fastening arm 54 at the point 50. The fastener 52 preferably includes a

High-frequency rotation translation unit, which is suitably controlled by the controller 30, to move the user 10 quickly, thereby For example, a shaking as in a car ride on bumpy track can be simulated.

The rototranslator 40 is likewise controlled by the control unit 30. For this purpose, a multiplicity of actuators (not illustrated here) are provided which allow movements in all possible degrees of freedom both in the translation unit 40a and in the rotation unit 40b.

By a one-to-one transfer of the poses of the robot 1 10 to the user 10, it is possible for all body accelerations of the robot 110 to be experienced by the user 10. This includes long-lasting

Body accelerations, as when running a curve. The one-to-one

Transmission of the pose, especially the translational accelerations to the body center of gravity of the robot 110, finds its limit in the available

Working space of the Rototranslators 40th Should, for example, the translational working space of the robot 110, the translational working space of the

Translation unit 40a, the pose can no longer be transmitted one-to-one. Then, the actuators of the rototranslator 40 are controlled by the controller 30 such that a motion-cueing process is realized. This makes it possible to transmit the pose of the robot 1 10 to the user 10 such that the working space of the rototranslator 40 does not leave, but nevertheless a realistic overall impression for the user 10 is generated.

A second display unit 56 is arranged in the field of view of the user 10, which can be used additionally or instead to the first display unit 24. The display unit 56 can, in particular in such cases, the first

Replace display unit 24 in which by means of the camera 38 (Fig. 2), the facial expression of the user 10 should be detected as completely as possible. The display unit 56 may be curved, spherical or flat and configured such that a

Playback of 2- and / or 3-dimensional images is possible. In the area of the user 10 also loudspeakers, not shown here for surround sound can be provided. By attaching the user 10 to the attachment point 50, various movements can be simulated by means of the rototranslator 40, which the robot 110 performs or which is added to it by its surroundings. In the preferred embodiment, the user 10 and the robot 110 are at a local distance from each other, such as in different rooms, different buildings, or the like. It is particularly advantageous if at least some of the lines 32 - 37 are designed wirelessly. For this, different technologies are suitable, such as transmission via

electromagnetic waves, optical, acoustic signals or the like.

In addition, the lines 32-37, which are shown in the figures as simple lines, can be designed in many ways. It is important that signals from sensors and signals to actuators and display units are transmitted in a suitable manner via suitable channels. It is also possible that the control unit 30 shown in the figures as a central unit is designed decentralized, so that, for example, parts of the control can take place directly on the master, on the slave, on individual joints and / or anywhere else. For this purpose, lines within the control system can be wireless and / or wired. For the most accurate control of the robot 110 is a variety of

Body sensors provided on the user 10 and in its surroundings. These sensors can be designed in various ways. So are measurements of angles and / or torques between individual body parts whose

Positions as well as measurements of optical, acoustic and / or bio-electrical (electromyography) signals conceivable. It is particularly advantageous if not only actual values of the measurements are determined, but also first and second derivatives thereof, so as to be able to estimate a development of corresponding values for the near future. The body sensors may be located at various locations, such as directly at the user 10, within the exoskeleton 20, and / or in between.

To be able to influence the body of the user 10 extensively, a plurality of actuators is provided there. These can act on manipulated variables such as Angle, positions, forces or torques and their time derivatives. It is particularly advantageous if the control of at least one of the actuators by means of a control process takes place. For that will be

corresponding sensor signals of the line 32 are evaluated as an actual value in the control unit 30, whereupon the control of the associated actuators is adapted to a predetermined setpoint.

The control of the Rototranslators 40 can be based on a

Control process done by actual signals corresponding sensors are received in the control unit 30 and evaluated appropriately, with a desired spatial position and position can be adjusted. Here, too, it is advantageous if additional time derivatives of such values are determined.

Also, on the body of the robot 110 and in the vicinity of a plurality of sensors is arranged. This can be done in a similar manner as in the user 10. These sensors also describe the current spatial position and position and, where appropriate, their time derivatives.

The control unit 30 controls the actuators and display units based on the received sensor signals such that a bilateral haptic teleoperability is made possible. In addition, the actuators on the user side and the robot can be controlled such that in addition also a

Gravity compensation and / or compensation of dynamic forces takes place.

In the interaction between the user 10 and the robot 1 10, there may be time delays, which may be caused in particular by the response times of sensors and actuators, computing speed of the control unit 30 and transit times of the various signals. These

Time delays can be largely compensated if time derivatives of the quantities measured by the sensors are evaluated and values are estimated in the future. However, such an estimation can lead to problems especially when the robot 110 is in contact with an object of its environment occurs, are in a development of the

Embodiment provided ultrasonic transducers, which can quickly recognize the distance to the object in the manner of a parking aid. By the

Using this data for contact prediction may give the impression of a

Contact and a realistic feedback in time at the user 10 are generated.

Thus, the described embodiments allow the user 10 and the robot 110 to assume the same postures as standing, sitting, lying, headstand, as well as performing joint movements such as walking, running, jumping, somersaulting, etc. In addition, the user 10 gets one haptic feedback. Because if he moves the robot 110 and this with any of his

Parts of the body comes into contact with its environment, that of the

taken corresponding sensors and passed through the control unit 30 to the user 10 on.

The preferred embodiment also has the advantage of achieving a complete, unlimited mobility in six degrees of freedom (6-dof mobility) of the governor and to provide the user at any time complete realistic power feedback. This makes it possible for the user to experience complex real or virtual worlds in their physicality and nature better than before. Different teleoperations are possible. For this, the user 10 may control the robot 110, for example, in a life-threatening environment such as a radioactive space, a combat mission or the like. The task of such a system is thus to extend the applicability of real robots to areas and problems in which they can not act autonomously or semi-autonomously. This includes, for example, locomotion of the robot 110 in desert sand, swamps, forests, complex situations in buildings, interaction with sensitive animals, etc. Complex movements, such as seals,

Melee, role jumping, etc. are possible. Much of the control, perception, interpretation of the data, as well as the decisions, are now made directly and in real time by the user 10, such as a human being. The described embodiments can be modified in many ways. In particular, it is conceivable:

The user exoskeleton 20 and the robot exoskeleton may be different or identical. In particular, the slave may also be a humanoid or other robotic general body.

- In the control unit 30, a memory unit is present, the predetermined - calculated, for example, based on existing 3-dimensional movement sequences - or already carried out by the user 10 or by another user positions and / or movements and / or forces and / or other to be reproduced

Sensory impressions stores. These can then be implemented as desired. As a result, the user 10 can exercise his body coordination or experience a haptic film.

The embodiments of the invention may also be used to allow multiple users to communicate and interact over a greater distance. In such an application, one or more additional users are located in the area of the robot 110, each of which likewise carries an exoskeleton or the like and thereby controls a second robot which is located in the area of the user 10. As a result, for example, therapeutic measures, gymnastic exercises or the like can be trained. Also, the controlled robots, regardless of location and number of users, can interact in the same room and communicate with users.

Alternatively, both or more users each use an exoskeleton or the like and each control a governor in a common virtual reality. This allows the haptic, acoustic, visual, etc.

Communication.

Instead of the rototranslator 40, other means can be used which cover the necessary translational and rotational degrees of freedom. These include, in particular, the Stewart motion platform

Multi-axis industrial robots or the like. Furthermore, ball-like spaces are known which can be stored friction and rotated from the outside, as from US 6,629,896 B2 and US2, 344.454 and the article "Novel 3-DOF Reconfigurable Spherical Motion Generator with Unlimited Workspace," Shiu Hang Ip et al., ACRA 2009 (See

http://www.araa.asn.au/acra/acra2009/papers/pap145s1.pdf; last call June 2010). In such a sphere-like space, the three

Rotational degrees of freedom, the exoskeleton 20 may be attached. The whole can be mounted on a translation unit to obtain a total of six degrees of freedom.

For simple and inexpensive systems, it is also possible to reduce the number of degrees of freedom or to limit their parameter space. Thus, a tilting and pivoting bar, mounted on the floor or on the ceiling of a room where the exoskeleton is movably mounted, may be sufficient to represent many movements in a realistic manner. With a gimbal also two or three axles are sufficient, if appropriate restrictions are accepted.

The physical robot 110 in a real environment may be replaced by another governor, such as a virtual model of a robot or a living being in a virtual environment. This eliminates all associated robot sensors and robot actuators; These are replaced by a corresponding simulation.

Reference Signs List

10 users

10a user hands

10b user elbow

10c user knee joints

12 user hull

13 user backs

14 user arms

16 user legs

17 user feet

18 user head

20 user exoskeleton

22 helmet

24 optical display unit

26 acoustic playback unit

28 microphone

30 electronic control unit

32 first sensor line

33 second sensor line

34 first reproduction line

35 second playback line

36 first control line

37 second control line

38 user camera

39 user motion sensor

40 Rototranslator

40a translation unit

40b rotation unit

42, 44, 46, 48 axes of rotation unit

43, 45, 47, 49 elements of the rotation unit

50 attachment point

52 fastening element 54 mounting arm

56 second display unit

110 robots

112 robot hull

114 robot arms

116 robot legs

117 robot feet

118 robot head

122 Robot Camera System 124 Robot Speaker System

126 robot microphone system

128 robot odor sensors

130 fuselage usable space

132 arms usable space

134 legs-usable space

136 head space

NS user sensors

ND User Output Units NA User Actuators

RS robot sensors

RD robot output units

RA robot actuators

Claims

Patent claims

Method for controlling a governor (110) by movements of the body of a user (10), wherein first signals are detected and evaluated by user sensors (NS) and governor actuators (RA) in the governor (110) are controlled in this way based on the first signals be that at least some of its parts (112, 114, 116, 118) can carry out postures, positions, movements, forces and / or torques like the body of the user (10), with second signals from governor sensors (RS ) are recorded and evaluated and, based on these second signals, user actuators (NA) are controlled in such a way that at least individual body parts of the user (10) are influenced, characterized in that the user sensors (NS) postures, positions, movements, forces and/or detect torques from at least one body part (12 - 18) of the user (10) and parts (112 - 118) of the governor (110) are moved accordingly.

Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the user sensors (NS) can detect postures, positions, movements, forces and / or torques of at least one leg (16) of the user (10) and that parts (114, 116) of the Governor (110) can be moved accordingly.

Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the user sensors (NS) can detect postures, positions, movements, forces and / or torques of at least one arm (14) and one leg (16) of the user (10) and that parts (114, 116) of the governor (110) are moved accordingly. 4. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least some of the body parts of the user (10) and/or the governor (110) are connected to an exoskeleton (20) and that this contains at least one of the actuators (NA; RA) and / or at least one of the sensors (NS; RS).

Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that signals from the user sensors (NS) are recorded and evaluated and used to control the user actuators (NA).

Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that signals from the governor sensors (RS) are recorded and evaluated and used to control the governor actuators (RA).

Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the user actuators (NA) have means for controlling a

Motion simulator (40), which are designed and arranged in such a way that the user (10) is moved as a whole in the presence of corresponding control signals.

Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the governor (110) can be designed as a real machine, as a virtual machine, as a real robot, as a virtual robot and / or as a virtual model of a living being, the associated governor sensors ( RS) and governor actuators (RA) are designed accordingly.

Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the user actuators (NA) and/or user output units (ND) are controlled by stored signals which represent predetermined influences on body parts or sensory impressions of the user (10).

10. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that movements of the user (10) and/or the governor (110) are controlled depending on signals from sensor means which determine the distance between the user (10) and/or the governor (1 10) and identify objects in the respective environment.

11. The method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the user actuators (NA) are controlled in such a way that the user (10), when he is in a liquid, is influenced in such a way that he is given a movement as in partial or complete weightlessness is simulated.

12. The method according to claim 1 1, characterized in that the damping of the movement of the user (10) in the user unit is scaled in the liquid.

13. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a user can influence a bilateral interaction both on the user side and on the governor side.

1 . Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that two or more user units and/or two or more governors (110) are influenced.

15. The method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that there are at least two users (10) who jointly control a governor (110) with predetermined shares.

16. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that there are two or more users (10) who can control different governors (1 10).

17. Device for controlling a governor (110) by movements of the body of a user (10), wherein user sensors (NS) are present, the signals of which are detected and evaluated by a control unit (30) and which are based on these user sensor signals Governor actuators (RA) in the governor (1 10) are controlled in such a way that at least some of its parts (1 12, 1 14, 1 16, 118) receive postures, positions, movements, forces and / or torques like the body of the governor User (10) can carry out, with governor sensors (RS) also being present Signals are detected and evaluated by the control unit (30) and which, based on these governor sensor signals, controls user actuators (NA) in such a way that at least individual parts of the user's body (10) are influenced, characterized in that the user sensors ( NS)

Postures, positions, movements, forces and/or torques of at least one body part (12 - 18) of the user (10) are recorded and parts (112 - 118) of the governor (110) are moved accordingly by the governor actuators (RA).

18. The device according to claim 17, characterized in that the user sensors (NS) are designed and arranged such that they detect postures, positions, movements, forces and / or torques of at least one leg (16) of the user (10). can and that the

Control unit (30) controls the governor actuators (RA) in such a way that parts (11, 116) of the governor (110) are moved accordingly.

19. Device according to one of the previous device claims, thereby

characterized in that the user sensors (NS) are designed and arranged in such a way that they can detect postures, positions, movements, forces and / or torques of at least one arm (14) and one leg (16) of the user (10) and that the control unit (30) controls the governor actuators (RA) in such a way that parts (114, 116) of the governor (110) are moved accordingly.

20. Device according to one of the previous device claims, thereby

characterized in that an exoskeleton (12) is present, to which at least some of the body parts of the user (10) and/or the governor (110) are connected and that this has at least one of the actuators (NA, RA) and/or at least one of the Sensors (NS, RS) included.

21. Device according to one of the previous device claims, thereby

characterized in that the control unit (30) receives signals from the user sensors (NS) is recorded and evaluated and used to control the user actuators (NA).

22. Device according to one of the previous device claims, thereby

characterized in that the control unit (30) receives signals from the governor

Sensors (RS) are recorded and evaluated and used to control the governor actuators (RA).

23. Device according to one of the previous device claims, thereby

characterized in that the user actuators (NA) comprise means for controlling a motion simulator (40), which are designed and arranged in such a way that the user (10) is moved as a whole when appropriate control signals are present.

24. Device according to one of the previous device claims, thereby

characterized in that the governor (110) can be designed as a real machine, as a virtual machine, as a real robot, as a virtual robot and / or as a virtual model of a living being, the associated governor sensors (RS) and governor actuators (RA ) are designed accordingly.

25. Device according to one of the previous device claims, thereby

characterized in that the control unit (30) contains a memory in which signals can be stored, based on which the user actuators (NA) and / or user output units (ND) can be controlled in such a way that they influence predetermined body parts or of the user's sensory impressions (10).

26. Device according to one of the previous device claims, thereby

characterized in that the control unit (30) controls movements of the user (10) and/or the governor (110) depending on signals from

Sensor means controls the distance between the user (10) and/or the governor (110) and objects in the respective surroundings.

27. Device according to one of the previous device claims, thereby

characterized in that the control unit (30) controls the user actuators (NA) in such a way that the user (0), when he is in a liquid, is influenced in such a way that a movement such as in partial or complete weightlessness is simulated.

28. Device according to claim 27, characterized in that the

Control unit (30) controls the user actuators (NA) in such a way that the damping of the movement of the user (10) is scaled in the user unit.

29. Device according to one of the previous device claims, thereby

characterized in that both on the user side and on the governor side, sensors (NS, RS), actuators (NA, RA) and / or output units (ND, RD) are designed in such a way that a user can influence a bilateral interaction can take.

30. Device according to one of the previous device claims, thereby

characterized in that two or more user units and/or two or more governors (1 10) are present.

31. Device according to one of the previous device claims, thereby

characterized in that means are available which enable at least two users (10) to jointly control a governor (110), each with predetermined shares.

32. Device according to one of the previous device claims, thereby

characterized in that the control unit (30) is designed such that two or more users (10) can control different governors (1 10).

33. Device according to one of the previous device claims, thereby

characterized in that the governor (110) has a usable space (130, 132, 134, 136), which is suitable for accommodating control means, energy supply means, operating materials, aggregates, tools and/or the like.