Although the idea of robots performing tasks on their own is an exciting idea, sometimes it is preferable to have a human controlling a robot so as to leverage the enhanced sensory and actuation abilities of the robot with the intelligence and experience of the human. We conduct research in advanced mathematics and theory of controls and teleoperation to allow us to control robots more naturally and easily.
It is possible for humans to practice tasks in a virtual world so as to improve their abilities in the real world. A key aspect of such a virtual world is the ability to feel forces and torques as one interacts with virtual objects much as in the physical world. Our research in haptics seeks to improve the fundamental haptic rendering algorithms so that interactions with virtual objects feel more natural on the human’s hands.