Predicting force feedback for interactions with objects in motion

Abstract

Natural disasters often present significant challenges for rescue operations due to the complex and hazardous environments they create. Teleoperation technology, particularly haptic bilateral teleoperation, offers promising solutions to enhance the efficiency, safety, and effectiveness of disaster response. This study explores the feasibility of approximating dynamic object movement to achieve satisfactory force feedback for haptic bilateral teleoperation systems, focusing on minimizing the impact of network delays on user experience. We conducted a series of experiments and user studies to assess the system’s performance under various delay conditions. Our findings indicate that dynamic object movement can be successfully approximated to provide realistic force feedback. The user study revealed that network delays greater than 75 ms significantly impact task difficulty, and delays beyond 125 ms affect system usability, although the system remains functional up to a total delay of 200 ms. The acceptable total delay, including system latency of approximately 135 ms, is found to be around 185 ms for optimal user experience. This research contributes to the development of teleoperation systems by providing insights into the
acceptable levels of network delay and the practical implementation of force feedback mechanisms, paving the way for future advancements in the field.