This research involves the acquisition and use of a Whole Arm Manipulator (WAM). The instrument will be used in three research areas: (a) WAM use in teleprogramming with feedback, (b) robotic exploration of environments, and (c) dynamic control of multiple robotic agents for manipulation of objects. The WAM is a distributed control, four degree-of-freedom robot arm that is unique in that it has been specifically designed for whole arm manipulation. Distributed control and effectors allow the arm to be used in applications for which earlier hand/arm combinations were ineffective. State-of-the-art research in robotics requires the acquisition of the latest equipment to test new control and planning algorithms. Early work with robot arms involved arms that were connected to robot hands in which the sensors and controls resided. This research was necessary to investigate gripping algorithms and feedback control algorithms. However, in order to investigate more extensive use of robots, these algorithms need to be integrated with the movement of the arm itself. The Whole Arm Manipulator funded by this grant allows for that integration. The development of good algorithms for the arm manipulation is crucial for the advancement of the use of robots in U.S. industry.
