Logo
ScienceStack
Table of Contents
Fetching ...
Sign In

8-DoFs Cable Driven Parallel Robots for Bimanual Teleportation

Hung Hon Cheng, Josie Hughes

TL;DR

The paper tackles the challenge of controlling high-DoF robotic systems through an intuitive, low-cost master interface. It introduces an $8$-DoF dual CDPR-based master with a $3+3+n$ structure, where translation is handled by CDPRs and orientation by a gimbal, enabling scalable, bimanual teleoperation. Key contributions include a Levenberg–Marquardt forward-kinematics solution, a decoupled task-space framework with a virtual-wall haptic system, and a hardware design using readily available Dynamixel actuators. Experimental results show strong translational accuracy ($\leq 4$ mm in most cases) and practical orientation handling via the gimbal, along with versatile manipulation tasks and expandable workspace. The work offers a practical pathway to high-DoF teleoperation with large, configurable workspaces and straightforward hardware integration, with future work aimed at enhanced force sensing and orientation control.

Abstract

Teleoperation plays a critical role in intuitive robot control and imitation learning, particularly for complex tasks involving mobile manipulators with redundant degrees of freedom (DoFs). However, most existing master controllers are limited to 6-DoF spatial control and basic gripper control, making them insufficient for controlling high-DoF robots and restricting the operator to a small workspace. In this work, we present a novel, low-cost, high-DoF master controller based on Cable-Driven Parallel Robots (CDPRs), designed to overcome these limitations. The system decouples translation and orientation control, following a scalable 3 + 3 + n DoF structure: 3 DoFs for large-range translation using a CDPR, 3 DoFs for orientation using a gimbal mechanism, and n additional DoFs for gripper and redundant joint control. Its lightweight cable-driven design enables a large and adaptable workspace while minimizing actuator load. The end-effector remains stable without requiring continuous high-torque input, unlike most serial robot arms. We developed the first dual-arm CDPR-based master controller using cost-effective actuators and a simple mechanical structure. In demonstrations, the system successfully controlled an 8-DoF robotic arm with a 2-DoF pan-tilt camera, performing tasks such as pick-and-place, knot tying, object sorting, and tape application. The results show precise, versatile, and practical high-DoF teleoperation.

8-DoFs Cable Driven Parallel Robots for Bimanual Teleportation

TL;DR

The paper tackles the challenge of controlling high-DoF robotic systems through an intuitive, low-cost master interface. It introduces an -DoF dual CDPR-based master with a structure, where translation is handled by CDPRs and orientation by a gimbal, enabling scalable, bimanual teleoperation. Key contributions include a Levenberg–Marquardt forward-kinematics solution, a decoupled task-space framework with a virtual-wall haptic system, and a hardware design using readily available Dynamixel actuators. Experimental results show strong translational accuracy ( mm in most cases) and practical orientation handling via the gimbal, along with versatile manipulation tasks and expandable workspace. The work offers a practical pathway to high-DoF teleoperation with large, configurable workspaces and straightforward hardware integration, with future work aimed at enhanced force sensing and orientation control.

Abstract

Teleoperation plays a critical role in intuitive robot control and imitation learning, particularly for complex tasks involving mobile manipulators with redundant degrees of freedom (DoFs). However, most existing master controllers are limited to 6-DoF spatial control and basic gripper control, making them insufficient for controlling high-DoF robots and restricting the operator to a small workspace. In this work, we present a novel, low-cost, high-DoF master controller based on Cable-Driven Parallel Robots (CDPRs), designed to overcome these limitations. The system decouples translation and orientation control, following a scalable 3 + 3 + n DoF structure: 3 DoFs for large-range translation using a CDPR, 3 DoFs for orientation using a gimbal mechanism, and n additional DoFs for gripper and redundant joint control. Its lightweight cable-driven design enables a large and adaptable workspace while minimizing actuator load. The end-effector remains stable without requiring continuous high-torque input, unlike most serial robot arms. We developed the first dual-arm CDPR-based master controller using cost-effective actuators and a simple mechanical structure. In demonstrations, the system successfully controlled an 8-DoF robotic arm with a 2-DoF pan-tilt camera, performing tasks such as pick-and-place, knot tying, object sorting, and tape application. The results show precise, versatile, and practical high-DoF teleoperation.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 18 sections, 10 equations, 11 figures, 1 table.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Methods
  3. Kinematics Model of 6-DoFs CDPR
  4. Gimbal Manipulator with additional 2-DoFs
  5. Forward Kinematics
  6. Overall Task Space Output
  7. Haptic Feedback
  8. Actuator Control Mode
  9. Hardware Design and Application Setup
  10. Communication Setup
  11. Actuators Selection and Hardware components
  12. Experimental Results
  13. State-of-art Spatial Teleoperation Device
  14. Workspace and Virtual Fixture of the Master
  15. Position and Orientation Performance of the Controller
  16. ...and 3 more sections

Figures (11)

  • Figure 1: Two 8-DoF cable-driven parallel robots (CDPRs), each equipped with a gimbal-based controller, are used to provide decoupled translational and rotational teleoperation input for a mobile robotic arm.
  • Figure 2: Kinematic of CDPRs
  • Figure 3: Gimbal Manipulator and its control variables.
  • Figure 4: Control system schematic of the teleoperation system
  • Figure 5: Hardware Design and Four Main Components of the system
  • ...and 6 more figures