New Robotics Research

Up to now, industrial robots have drastically rationalised many kinds of manufacturing processes in industrial fields. The user interface provided by the robot maker has been almost limited to so-called teaching pendant - a useful and safe tool to obtain the position and orientation at the tip of a robot along a desired trajectory. This book examines a position/force control system, first designed for industrial robots with an open architecture controller. In addition, this book provides an analysis of various tracking techniques (optical, electromagnetic, ultrasonic and laser-based) in different environments and surgical fields. An overview of registration algorithms is also given, with an analysis of theoretical registration error-distribution followed by practical design considerations for an accurate registration set-up. The authors of this book also summarise the registration methods used for commercial and research surgical robots. Other chapters assess the development of a system of haptic forceps with bilateral control, allowing tactile sensation to be precisely and immediately imparted to the surgeon’s hands. The authors believe that the results of the study will provide useful data for surgery and will contribute to the future development of robotic forceps with tactile sensation.