This project addresses the topic of dexterity enhancement by macro/micro bilateral manipulation. Macro/micro bilateral manipulation refers to the use of a force interpreting master-slave manipulator to provide a human operator the capacity for dexterous micromanipulation. Micromanipulation refers to any manual task requiring control of motions and forces well below normal physiological resolution. The most obvious applications for macro- micro bilateral manipulators (MMBM) are as assistive devices for microsurgery and microassembly. This project addresses both theoretical and experimental aspects of MMBM. Its goal is to understand and describe the features of MMBM behavior that lead to optimal dexterity enhancement. This is accomplished by examining a class of tasks in which the MMBM behaves as a hand tool. Specifically, this project studies the effects of using the tool to match operator and environment impedances, and of using it to reshape the the environment's impedance, compensating for the effects of physical scaling laws. A high performance MMBM will be developed which will be characterized by four degrees of freedom, direct drive, master and slave manipulators, a multi-processor real time control system, and a microscope, camera, and monitor for observation of the slave manipulator and microenvironment. The apparatus will be used to perform a series of psychophysical experiments to assesss dexterity.
