A force-feedback six-degrees-of freedom wire-actuated master for teleoperation: the WiRo 6.3

Purpose – This paper aims to present an innovative example of a master for teleoperation capable of moving in six degrees of freedom and of providing a force and torque feedback on the operator’s hand. Design/methodology/approach – After a brief overview of what the state of the art in teleoperation has to offer, the paper outlines the choice of an innovative structure in terms of both geometry and components, pointing out its main characteristics compared with traditional interfaces. Findings – The master for teleoperation WiRo-6.3 has been designed and constructed and is fully operative, thanks to the following theoretical analyses: positional and orientation workspace(s), forward and inverse kinematics, statics, overall control strategies. The mechanical details are also presented. Research limitations/implications – The WiRo-6.3 is suitable to those applications in which human command is necessary but potentially harmful, and where a force-feedback interface is preferred to obtain better control over the task to be accomplished. A possible field of interest could be the control of robot arms in dangerous environments, nuclear applications, uncomfortable climates, remote operations. Originality/value – The master WiRo-6.3 is a novel device both for its geometric structure and for the wire actuation choice; those characteristics provide very interesting results in terms of dexterity, force feedback performance and overall user-friendliness.