Plugfest 2009: Global interoperability in Telerobotics and telemedicine

Abstract

Despite the great diversity of teleoperator designs and applications, their underlying control systems have many similarities. These similarities can be exploited to enable inter-operability between heterogeneous systems. We have developed a network data specification, the Interoperable Telerobotics Protocol, that can be used for Internet based control of a wide range of teleoperators.In this work we test interoperable telerobotics on the global Internet, focusing on the telesurgery application domain. Fourteen globally dispersed telerobotic master and slave systems were connected in thirty trials in one twenty four hour period. Users performed common manipulation tasks to demonstrate effective master-slave operation. With twenty eight (93%) successful, unique connections the results show a high potential for standardizing telerobotic operation. Furthermore, new paradigms for telesurgical operation and training are presented, including a networked surgery trainer and upper-limb exoskeleton control of micro-manipulators.

Models for Force Control in Telesurgical Robot Systems

“…Altogether six successful pyeloplasty procedures were performed on porcine kidneys using telesurgery, with the slave manipulator located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1,700 kilometers away from the controllers [8]. The Plugfest was one of the most notable experiments in the past years in this research domain, allowing eight master devices to connect with six slave machines [9]. Simulated interventions such as peg transfer tasks (SAGES Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery) were successfully supported for more than 24 hours, using the Interoperable Teleoperation Protocol (ITP) [10].…”

Dynamically evaluated gravity compensation for the RAVEN surgical robot

“…The ROS framework and open source RAVEN software allow for users to modify their own software and easily interface with other ROS tools that are being being developed over a multitude of fields in robotics, such as computer vision and mapping. Teleoperation is achieved via a custom UDP packet interface that was designed for interoperability between master and slave stations [7].…”

The rising prospects of cloud robotic applications

“…ASORO [27] and Gostai [28] developed cloud computing infrastructure which can serve as the basis of CR. Network capabilities have been tested through various events, notably, the Plugfest experiment in 2009, where telerobotic master and slave systems were connected in multiple setups for twenty-four hours [29].…”