GLOVE CONTROLLER WITH FORCE AND TACTILE FEEDBACK FOR DEXTEROUS ROBOTIC HANDS

THIS PROPOSAL ADDRESSES THE NEED TO CONTROL ROBOTIC HANDS IN SPACE APPLICATIONS REQUIRING THE REMOTE PERFORMANCE OF HIGHLY DEXTEROUS TASKS, E.G., EVA OR REMOTE EXPLORATION. THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROGRAM WILL BE: (1) TO ESTABLISH THE FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING AN INNOVATIVE MASTER GLOVE CONTROLLER THAT PROVIDES BOTH FORCE AND FINGERTIP TACTILE FEEDBACK TO THE OPERATOR; AND (2) TO DETERMINE THE EXTENT TO WHICH TACTILE FEEDBACK IMPROVES DEXTEROUS TASK PERFORMANCE. THE WORK PLAN CONSISTS OF: DEVELOPMENT OF AN ELECTRICALLY-DRIVEN, THREE-FINGERED EXOSKELETAL GLOVE CONTROLLER; ASSEMBLY OF DRIVERS AND SIGNAL PROCESSORS FOR FINGERTIP-SHAPED TACTILE STIMULATOR ARRAYS AND SENSOR ARRAYS EACH CONTAINING 44 ELEMENTS; AND EVALUATION OF THE MANIPULATIVE PERFORMANCE OF THE MASTER/SLAVE SYSTEM WHILE OPERATING IN A BI-LATERAL FORCE AND TACTILE CONTROL MODE. THE KNOWLEDGE GAINED AS A RESULT OF THIS WORK WILL INCREASE THE UNDERSTANDING REGARDING THE CONTRIBUTION THAT TACTILE SENSOR FEEDBACK CAN MAKE TO THE PERFORMANCE OF DEXTEROUS TASKS. ADDITIONALLY, THE PROTOTYPE GLOVE CONTROLLER WILL SERVE TO GUIDE THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ADVANCED DEVICE IN PHASE II, E.G., ADDITIONAL FINGERS, SMALLER GLOVE SIZE AND WEIGHT, FASTER ACTUATORS, AND HIGHER DENSITY TACTILE STIMULATOR ARRAYS PLACED AT THE FINGERTIPS AND OTHER AREAS OF THE GLOVE.