Robot Shared-control systems

Fig. 28.1a-c. Technical classification of robotic systems a Supervisory controlled system, in which the surgeon plans the operation off line and the robot performs the specified motions autonomously under the supervision of the surgeon, b Telesurgical system, in which the robot is under direct control of the surgeon with an on-line input device, which is typically a force feedback joystick (master), c Shared control system, in which the robot and surgeon share control of the surgical instrument. [Modified from Nathoo et al. (2005) with permission]... 

In the initial candidate architecture (control structure), a decision is made to introduce a human operator in order to supervise robot movement as so many of the hazards are related to movement. At the same time, it may be impractical for an operator to monitor aU the activities so the first version of the system architecture is to have the TTPS control system in charge of the non-movement activities and to have both the TTPS and the control room operator share control of movement. The safety-guided design process, including STPA, will identify the implications of this decision and wUl assist in analyzing the allocation of tasks to the various components to determine the safety tradeoffs involved. 

Within a robotic telesurgery platform, the control of the slave robots can be shared between the surgeon and the system. An example is foimd in beating-heart surgery. The robots... 

The processing systems of modem robotic systems are usually distributed, which requires a shared memory or adatacommunication network between the processing units to ensure adequate time constraints for message transmission. A data commimication network that has this ability to communicate in real time is a CAN (Control Area Network). 

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