A Steady-Hand Robotic System for Microsurgical Augmentation

This paper reports the development of a robotic system designed to extend a human’s ability to perform small-scale (sub-millimeter) manipulation tasks requiring human judgement, sensory integration and hand-eye coordination. Our novel approach, which we call “steady hand” micro-manipulation, is for tools to be held simultaneously both by the operator's hand and a specially designed and actively controlled robot arm. The robot’s controller senses forces exerted by the operator on the tool and by the tool on the environment, and uses this information in various control modes to provide smooth, tremorfree precise positional control and force scaling. Our goal is to develop a manipulation system with the precision and sensitivity of a machine, but with the manipulative transparency and immediacy of hand-held tools for tasks characterized by compliant or semirigid contacts with the environment.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 1999
• Where: MICCAI
• Authors: Russell H. Taylor, Patrick S. Jensen, Louis L. Whitcomb, Aaron C. Barnes, Rajesh Kumar 0001, Dan Stoianovici, Puneet K. Gupta, Zhengxian Wang, Eugene de Juan, Louis R. Kavoussi
• Keywords: Controlled Robot Arm, Manipulation Tasks, Medical Imaging, MICCAI 1999, Robot’s Controller Senses