In the industrial domain as well as in daily life, robots are spreading in all areas. Difficulties arise especially if the human acts in the workspace of the robot. Thus, a suitable environmental perception is indispensable for a successful interaction between human and robot. This requires acquisition of reliable sensor data, interfaces adapted to the human and intuitive interaction strategies. We at the Measurement and Sensor Technology Group achieve this by building on our hardware competences and interdisciplinary cooperations with psychologists, industrial engineers and medical experts.
Human-Machine Interaction
3D Input with Haptic Feedback to the User
The omega.7 from force dimension can be used like a 3D mouse with additionally programmable haptic feedback to the user. For instance, we can map complex impedance behavior to the handle.
Vibrotactile Feedback
Motion Capture System
In order to assure appropriate robot behavior during an interaction, the human's behavior has to be measured. Among other methods, we capture the human's motions based on inertial measurement units (IMUs).
Robot Out of the Printer
In his Bachelor's thesis, Felix Herbst designed this easy to manufacture prototype of a 3D printed 6-axis robot. It is now in its third generation and has been replicated for use across multiple experiments. More information about the backgrounds in this article (German only) by Mareike Hochschild.
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Student projects like this are part of the daily work at our lab. -
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Human-machine interaction with a 3D printed robot. -
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We can remotely manipulate various objects thanks to our attached gripper tool. -
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The introduction of additive manufacturing has been a great benefit to our working group.
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Continuum Robot
In contrast to conventional rigid-link robots, continuum robots feature a continuous backbone which replaces vertebrates. The flexible structure offers new capabilities such as performing full body deformation. Continuous joints also remove the dependency on small discrete joints and therefore enable the possibility of advanced miniaturization. Applications for continuum robots are broad including search and rescue operations, object manipulation, and interventional medicine.
Exoskeleton
Exoskeletons are wearable robotic systems that enhance the power and assist the accuracy of both healthy and disabled individuals. By combining the best of both worlds we can design intelligent human-machine systems for power-assistance, rehabilitation, teleoperation and haptic interaction in virtual reality.
