This paper proposes a third generation teleoperation system based on a status-driven slave symbolically instructed by the master control panel. Furthering the first generation joint-angle control techniques and second generation coordinate transformation techniques, this system recognizes the target status specified by the operator by extracting the task status from visual sensors. The task environment is initially described via sensing points in the work environment and on the manipulated object. The relationships between the sensing points and the change of those relationships describes the task at hand. Operation can proceed in automatic mode where the system completely directs the slave or in shared mode where the system assists the operator by constraining the slave motion while the operator directs via a visual communication interface. Although status-driven techniques offer several improvements in teleoperated control, this work explores the robustness and reliability provided in dynamic workspace environments. One successful application of this technique is in micrometer scale part handling, the so-called "microworld assembly" where an operator's past experience in the macro world is not applicable to the physics experienced in the microworld.
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