Teleoperating a Denso Robot

A year ago I wrote about our open architecture 6 Degree of Freedom (DOF) Denso robot. Coupled with Quanser's QUARC control software, it offers researchers and students an extremely user-friendly programming environment. That means they can use the industrial grade robot in teaching and research labs, without having to spend their time typing endless lines of low level code to move a robotic arm. No wonder the robot workstation has become increasingly popular with our academic clients and research partners.

As an example, consider the Health Research Innovation Centre at University of Calgary. The setup at the Centre, which includes our Denso Open Architecture Robot Workstation and a high definition haptic device HD^2 is used for research and development of the neuroArm, a robotic arm used for telesurgery.

The video below demonstrates the Denso robot being teleoperated by the HD^2 high definition haptic device. Communication is conducted over shared memory for optimized bilateral teleoperation performance. It can be easily switched to another protocol over the Internet using QUARC blocksets.

The motion of the operator’s hand is captured by the haptic device at a high resolution and speed. This motion then drives the end-effector of the Denso robot over 6 degrees of freedom, i.e., translational x, y, z, and rotational roll, pitch and yaw. The measured forces and torques at the tip of the robot are applied back to the operator through the haptic device.

The monitor, visible at the top left corner of the video, demonstrates an OpenGL visualization of the Denso robot in real-time where some virtual objects are added to the graphics of the Denso robot. These virtual objects represent the virtual fixtures that act on the tip of the robot. When the robot end-effector goes into contact with these virtual objects, a feedback force is calculated based on the simulated dynamics of the objects. The force is then applied back to the user through the haptic device. As a result, the operator will be repelled from certain regions in the robot workspace. One can think of it as a means of guiding the surgeon out of some delicate regions of a brain during the surgery.

Overall, in this setup, the Denso robot, a 7 DOF haptic device, the simulation, and the force sensor are all interfaced to each other on a single PC through QUARC control software. Along with all this is a 1 DOF actuator at the end-effector of the robot, which is controlled through a QUARC serial communication blockset.

To sum up, the 6 DOF Denso Open Architecture Robot Workstation from Quanser is a state of the art, cost-effective solution for all those interested in teaching robotics or doing research in this field. No surprise that its popularity is growing by the day.

Quanser's New High Definition Haptic Device

HD2 is one of the latest highly engineered robotic manipulators designed and manufactured in Quanser. As a haptic device it enables the human user to interact with virtual environments using programmable force feedback. The motion of the user can be instrumented in 6 degrees of freedom, i.e., three translational motions in Cartesian space and three rotational motions (i.e. roll, pitch and yaw). The device can apply force feedback to the user in 5 degrees of freedom.

The name HD2 stands for “High Definition Haptic Device” which indeed reflects the capabilities of this manipulator. Compared to other commercially available haptic devices on the market, HD2 has a relatively large workspace and very low intervening dynamics. It is also highly backdrivable with negligible inertia and friction. This state-of-the-art device is equipped with high current linear amplifiers which with the use of parallel mechanisms make it possible for the device to provide the user with stiffness coefficients as high as 20,000 N/m. HD2 is finding a wide and still emerging range of industrial, medical, educational, and scientific applications. These include but are not limited to teleoperation tasks where dexterity and precision is required in the control of slave robots such as robotic-assisted surgeries and space and undersea expeditions. Virtual reality training simulators, human rehabilitation systems, and gaming are some other promising applications of HD2.

(Note: HD2 is scheduled for release in March 2009)

Quanser focused on collaboration and long term solutions

Quanser is commited to working closely with academia to develop individual projects and support long-term goals. Our involvement with the Advanced Visualization Laboratory project at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) is a recent example of this commitment.

The Advanced Visualization Lab is a state-of-the-art digital facility that allows researchers from engineering, science and liberal arts to convert large amounts of data into visuals on large-scale and high resolution visualization walls (VisWalls) or other display devices. As an unusually immersive visual experience, the Advanced Visualization Lab allows researchers to better understand and experience complex phenomena.

Two years ago, Quanser and Brent Nowak, UTSA Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering were having a discussion about Quanser’s HD2 high definition haptic device and the major role it could play in expanding the possibilities of the Advanced Visualization Lab that UTSA was then starting to develop.

The UTSA laboratory features a 14.5-foot-wide by six-foot-tall visualization wall—a 98 Mpixel tiled display of two dozen 30” widescreen monitors, with each monitor offering twice as many pixels as a high definition television. Image courtesy of the University of Texas, San Antonio.

“The Lab’s visualization wall lets us analyze large amounts of data, and zoom in and out to observe a subject such as simulated medical surgery in incredible detail,” says Nowak. “But we also wanted to increase the Lab’s capability by adding a high definition haptic device that could be integrated with both the VisWall and a very large (82”) 3D television monitor, so researchers could‘touch and feel’ the digital models they created in the course of their research.”

Quanser’s HD2 haptic device provides six degrees of freedom motion and five degrees of freedom force/torque feedback, making it an ideal tool to practice surgical simulations and other techniques.Future lab projects include multi-scale modeling for computational biology and biomedicine, development of cancer surgical simulation and real-time monitoring systems, and design and performance of autonomous underwater vehicles, to name a few.

Quanser’s strong reputation was a major factor the partnership with UTSA, according to Nowak. “We wanted to collaborate with Quanser because of its overall reputation for quality—the quality of its hardware and software products, and its ability to integrate its products with new technology like ours. We knew its engineers and consultants could be counted on to work closely with us and support our efforts to break new ground. That’s incredibly exciting and energizing.”

The Quanser - UTSA collaboration is ongoing. Right now, our engineers are working with UTSA to integrate the HD2 haptic device into the lab's Linux environment. Derek Wight and Pasha Javid continue to work at both Quanser headquarters in Markham and onsite in San Antonio, to assist the Advanced Visualization Lab in realizing its full potential.

High Definition Haptics in Manitoba

In mid-January, Amin – one of our engineers – and I had a chance to visit the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. We brought with us the High Definition Haptic Device, HD^2 (pronounced “H. D. Squared”) and demonstrated it to a group of physicians, researchers, and students in a seminar put on by the Faculties of Medicine and Engineering and the local IEEE Chapter. Our hosts, Drs. Bertram Unger and Nariman Sepehri, have been conducting research in virtual surgery and tele-operation.

We showed how the HD^2 could be used as a trainer for surgical procedures, as a rehabilitation device for stroke patients, or as a manipulator for robots. After the talk, we let the group test out the device. There was a only a slight gross-out factor with the virtual needle insertion demo, especially as one could feel how a needle passed through different layers of “meat” (Amin’s reference to tissue). Otherwise, most of those who tried out the HD^2 thought it was a very new sensation and experience.

In putting together the demonstration, one of the things that boggles me is the relative ease in developing haptic controllers through QUARC. While our Amin is extremely talented, it took him about half a day to create a stroke rehabilitation program – something that would have previously taken months with other software. The visualization feature he used is now part of QUARC 2.0

Here's a video of one of the demos:

Quanser R&D Teleoperation Setup in the Hands of NeuroArm Scientists.

Last week, I had the chance to visit great people and hi-tech facilities at the Health Research Innovation Centre at University of Calgary. This is where some best surgeons and researchers in the world are collaborating on a second generation of neuroArm, the world's first MRI-compatible surgical robot capable of both microsurgery and image guided biopsy. Using this ground breaking technology, the surgeon operates the robot from a computer workstation within the strong magnetic field of the intraoperative MRI environment. The team is led by Dr. Garnette Sutherland, professor of neurosurgery in the University of Calgary and a Calgary Health Region top neurosurgeon.

NeuroArm is one of the few robots in the world that is used for a procedure called telesurgery. In most telesurgical operations, the surgeon controls the motion of a slave robot within the patient’s body by operating a master robot and using visual feedback and image guidance.

A tele-surgical setup can provide surgeons with minimally invasive approaches and a new level of dexterity and precision. In addition, it gives them access to environments that a surgeon’s hand can not normally reach such as MRI environments or sub-millimeter regions within the patient’s body. At a more advanced level, it will allow the skills and expertise of specialized surgeons like Dr. Sutherland to be available to patients worldwide.

The complexity of the surgical operations necessitate immersive interaction with the patient’s body. It has been proven that haptic feedback along with visual feedback adds significant advantages to surgical performance. In other words, the forces sensed by the robotic tools inside patient’s body can be applied back to the surgeon through the master robot in the form of kinesthetic and tactile cues.

Adding the sense of touch to a telesurgical operation introduces many new challenges to mechatronics engineers and control scientists. As a pioneer in the field of Haptics and Teleoperation, Quanser is collaborating with neuroArm engineers in a close relationship. Mr. Alexander Greer, neuroArm project’s robotics engineer is gathering high-end robots at their advanced lab facilities. His aim is to conduct research on haptically enabled telesurgery.

Quanser Teleoperation Setup in Health Research Innovation Centre at University of Calgary

In my trip to Calgary, I delivered one of Quanser’s latest R&D teleoperation equipment. The system consists of our augmented 7DOF high definition haptic device and our latest open-architecture articulated robot. The end-effector of the robot is equipped with a custom made tool designed and manufactured at Quanser. Programming and control design is through our real-time software QUARC. The system is also equipped with high definition force torque sensing. Quanser expertise in mechatronics and control has resulted in an advanced bilateral teleoperation system with high fidelity force feedback. This system will be used by skilled neuroArm engineers for further research and development.

Quanser Teleoperation Setup in Health Research Innovation Centre at University of Calgary

Quanser 6-DOF Open-Architecture Robot

Quanser is presenting it's latest DENSO 6-axis articulated robot. The term 'articulated' is used for robots that consist of rotary/revolute joints. These joints are linked to each other in a serial configuration. The first three joints form an anthropomorphic arm while the second three form a wrist robot. This enables the robot to position and orient its end-effector within a large workspace, similarly to a human arm that can access any position and orientation within its reach, except that it has an extra joint.

This 6-Axis robot is open-architecture, powered by our real-time software, QUARC. QUARC's blocksets along with MATLAB/Simulink provide the user with an advanced user-friendly environment which facilitates and accelerates real-time programming of this robotic manipulator.

Quanser's DENSO 6-DOF Open-Architecture Robot has a wide and still growing range of applications, such as tele-operation tasks. It can be used in a robot-assisted surgery as an instrument holder or as a guidance system adding more precision and dexterity to the operation. Another medical applications in rehabilitation and nursing assistance come to mind as well.

In addition to medical applications, Quanser's DENSO 6-DOF Open-Architecture robot can be mounted on an unmanned vehicle as a camera/tool holder in an autonomous or semi-autonomous mission. Again, it can be tele-operated as a robotic manipulator, helping in remote or hazardous environments such as bomb disposal or mine sweeping scenarios. Users can also program the robot to do accurate automated tasks repeatedly in short cycle times. For instance, it can be programmed for such industrial tasks as assembling, welding, cutting, injection, and extraction.

Quanser's DENSO 6-DOF Open-Architecture robot has its place in university engineering labs: Using QUARC, this industrial robot can be rapidly interfaced in a fully open-architecture scenario. That makes it a perfect system to teach mechatronics, robotics, and mechanics. Plus, you can use it for research and development - for instance as a part of a humanoid robot combined with artificial intelligence.

In the above video we are using our high definition haptic device as a master robot to control the motions of the 6-Axis robot in the Cartesian workspace. This is called a bilateral teleoperation setup where the forces and torques at the tip of the robot are measured and applied back to the operator through the haptic device. In order to control the ball on my racket as it bounces up and down, I use the force feedback and apply a scaled motion command. The robot control loop is running at 8kHz while the force/torque sensing is at the rate of 10kHz. The robot is incredibly fast and precise. As a next step, we plan to play a real ping-pong match between robot and human, so stay tuned for this exciting video!

Quanser robot is made to be programmed by humans to assist humans with high speeds and accuracy.

A Week at the MICCAI Conference

I was in the UK last week where the Imperial College of London was hosting the 12^th International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention (MICCAI 2009). This is where clinicians, computer scientists , bioscientists, , engineers, and other researchers gather every year to share their innovations in the field of medical robotics, medical image processing and computer assisted intervention. Beside the major focus on advances of image acquisition and computation at the MICCAI conference, robotic assisted surgery has attracted huge attention in the recent years. Robots can provide the surgeons with unprecedented precision, dexterity, and minimally invasive techniques. They can increase the quality of the operation while reducing the time of the operation and patient recovery. Image information from a wide range of sensor data can be integrated into such systems to equip the surgeon with enhanced vision capabilities and feedback system.

From Left : Professor Guang-Zhong Yang (Imperial College), Amin Abdossalami (Quanser), Keith Blanchet(Quanser).

Quanser’s great expertise in haptics and teleoperation has resulted in the design and development of such well-known general purpose robotic manipulators as High Definition Haptic Device HD2 and Haptic Wand. At MICCAI 2009, Quanser was invited to present its latest haptic devices, the HD2. This system has a high accuracy position measurement and a relatively large workspace. It can provide the operator with precise force feedbacks ranging from the reaction force of a brain tissue to the stiffness of a tooth. In addition, the device end-effector can be easily modified for a versatile range of applications. All these characteristics make the HD2 capable enough to be used for such applications as virtual training simulators, collaborative haptics, rehabilitation, or it can even act as either a master or slave robot in a telesurgery setup. Using our real-time software QuaRC we designed some surgical simulations to demonstrate the capabilities of our HD2 and its programming software. Quanser’s HD2 along with its real-time software QuaRC and our other booth material attracted a lot of interest from both clinicians and engineers during the MICCAI conference.

Quanser Booth in MICCAI 2009

Below, our blog followers can read about some presentations from other companies participating in the exhibition.

One of the FDA approved systems which is extensively being used for robotic surgery is the da Vinci made by Intuitive. In the following video a second generation of the da Vinci systems with three surgical arms is presented.

SenseGraphics was another exhibiting company in the MICCAI. Below, you can see their presentation of their 3D display setup.

In the following video Dr. Rodriguez from Imperial College is presenting part of their fascinating research in the field of developing new brain probes.

In the following video you can see some interesting 3D spatial tracking systems developed by NDI.

And last but not least are some cool products from INITION in the field of 3D displays.

Quanser at OCE Discovery

Two weeks ago, Amin, Patrick, and I were at the Ontario Centres of Excellence Discovery conference in downtown Toronto. Hearing Steve Wozniak talk about his relationship with the "other Steve" and seeing many cutting edge research projects underway made the two days zip by.

We were demoing the HD^2 High Definition Haptic Device at our booth. I get a huge thrill out of seeing people try the HD^2 out for the first time. Their reactions are amazing! You get those who squirm as they try out virtual needle insertion or those who jump right into the technical side, playing around with the controller of the rehab device demo.

The HD2 is like the manna of haptic devices. You can get it to produce a huge array of surfaces - squishy tissue, hard rubber, thick and viscous fluids, bones. Of course, this is like me telling you how something tastes. Your best bet is to try the device out yourself some time when you meet us at a show like OCE or if you're ever close to Markham, Ontario.

Some videos of the demos we showed:

Research Work Using Quanser 6 DOF Telepresence System Published in a Prestigious Journal

Researchers from Imperial College, UK, and University of Calgary, Canada, focus on understanding forces exerted during surgical procedure - a prerequisite to successful design and application of robots in microsurgery. They summarized their results in a paper, recently published by a prestigious International Journal of Medical Robotics and Computer Assisted Surgery.

Quanser 6 DOF Telepresence System

As an experimental platform, the research team used Quanser 6 DOF Telepresence System, combinig HD² High Definition Haptic Device and 6 DOF Denso Open Architecture Robot in a master-slave configuration allowing for high-fidelity teleoperation with haptic feedback.

Click here to access the full paper online.

To learn how other researchers have used Quanser systems as experimental platforms for their research, visit www.quanser.com/research_papers and download the whitepaper "The Quanser Platform for Control Systems Research Validation."

To learn more about the project neuroArm, visit www.neuroArm.org

New Peripherals to Power your Plants and Deliver Reliable Results

No matter what plant you use for teaching and research, control peripherals are important components that effect funcion and performance of the whole workstation. Quanser designed and developed a wide range of such components - power amplifiers and data acquisition boards - that allow you to easily interface between your physical plant and the control software to achieve desired results.

Quanser's Data Acquisition Solutions
Based on requirements of your system, you can select between PCI, PCI Express or USB technology:
QPID and QPIDe are versitile and powerful PCI /PCI Express boards ideal for rapid control prototyping. With a wide range of inputs and outputs you can easily connect and control a variety of devices instrumented with analog and digital sensors, using one board. Ultra-low I/O conversion times and simultaneous sampling of each I/O type make these boards suitable for complex control configurations used for research and teaching advanced control concepts with devices such as Quanser's HD^2 high definition haptic device or 3 DOF Gyroscope. QPID and QPIDe are supported by the Quanser HIL SDK, which provides API for C, C++, ActiveX, .NET, LabVIEW and MATLAB.

Q2-USB and Q8-USB represent Quanser's ground-breaking USB data acquisition technology, offering portable and affordable solution for real-time measurement and control. The wide range of inputs and outputs allows to connect and controla number of devices instrumented with analog and digital sensors, using one board. deterministic, close-loop control rates up to 2kHZ make Q2- and Q8-USB ideal solutions for teaching control concepts with systems such as Quanser's modular rotary workstation. Q2-USB and Q8-USB are supported by the Quanser HIL SDK, which provides API for C, C++, ActiveX, .NET, LabVIEW and MATLAB.

Quanser's Amplifiers
The new generation of Quanser's universal power modules - VoltPAQ line - is designed to achieve high performance with Hardware-In-The-Loop implementations. VoltPAQ linear voltage-controlled amplifiers come in 3 variations with either 1, 2 or 4 outputs and therefeore are suitable for experiments with one degeree of freedom, such as rotary Self-Erecting Inverted Pendulum; 2 degrees of freedom, such as 2 DOF Rotary Gantry or multiple degrees of freedom, such as 3 DOF Hover. All three VoltPAQ variations are compact and lightweight, saving space in your lab.

The AMPAQ amplifiers are designed for systems where precise current control is essential for the performance of the system. These high resolution linear current amplifiers eliminate dead-band and reduce noise issues common in PWM amplifiers. AMPAQs are available as models with 2 or 4 analog outputs and are ideal for complex control configurations, for teaching and research in areas such as haptics.

To create more dependable real-time platform, combine Quanser's data acquisition solutions and amplifiers with QUARC control software to drive Quanser's system or other motors and actuators. Contact us at info@quanser.com for more details and to discuss your needs.

Quanser Expertise Attracts Advanced Motion Research Projects

As part of his latest experimental research, Professor Venkat Krovi, Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at SUNY Buffalo, was looking to develop a prototype of a 6 DOF motion platform. This platform would move over a fixed base and be interconnected by several legs.

To ensure the smoothest possible working relationship and achieve their goals in a timely, cost-efficient manner, Dr. Krovi and his team at the Automation, Robotics and Mechatronics (ARM) Lab engaged Quanser, a world leader in the design and manufacture of real-time control systems.

Dr. Krovi’s confidence in Quanser was based on experience. He’d worked with Quanser’s engineers before as one of the first users of our brand new High Definition Haptic Device HD2.

From the very beginning, the ARM Lab and Quanser spoke the same language. To generate the mathematical basis for the motion platform project, Dr. Krovi‘s team used Maplesoft's MapleSim mathematical modeling software. Maplesoft is a Quanser development partner, and Quanser’s expertise with MapleSim modeling contributed significantly to the speed and effectiveness of the collaborative process.

Equally important to Dr. Krovi was the fact that Quanser management and engineers fully understood his world. As he put it, “The process became very easy when working with Quanser’s team - from engineering through management, everyone was very cooperative.”

He also found that they could devise solutions in a relatively short timeframe. “We were able to quickly nail down the specifications and proceed through various stages of the design cycle which paved the way to the project and its timely completion.”

The entire process - from concept to working prototype - only took two months, less time than normal in a university setting. This allowed Dr. Krovi’s grad students to remain closely involved throughout. The final product ­ the 6 DOF motion platform Quanser developed with the ARM Lab ­is known as the Hexapod, and it is a key part of Quanser’s Mechatronics Controls Collection.

Quanser's Hexapod is a six degrees of freedom motion platform suitable for research in areas such as earthquake simulation, flight simulation and vibration studies.

Like all Quanser devices, the Hexapod is multi-faceted and designed to work in conjunction with other tools to accomplish a wide range of research goals. Currently, at SUNY Buffalo, the Quanser Hexapod is being used in conjunction with the Quanser Haptic Device HD2 to further needle insertion research by helping design a surgical training simulator for biopsy procedures.

- Note: the Hexapod is no longer available for purchase in North America, Europe, Japan and Taiwan. -

Quanser Partners with the Regional Creative Hub

Markham region, where Quanser head office is located, is home to the largest cluster of technology and life sciences companies in Canada. Little wonder that this leading hub of technological innovation, creativity and education was where the Ontario provincial government came to announce the creation of a new innovation center called VentureLab. The establishment of the new innovation centre along with more than $1 million in funding for it, was announced by Glen Murray, Ontario's Minister of Research and Innovation.

Linking together the town of Markham, provincial and federal governments, and industry and academic professionals, VentureLab will focus on creating innovative companies and new technologies. As a part of ONE, the Ontario Network of Excellence, it will help local entrepreneurs bring their ideas to marketplace and give them access to a broad network of experts and resources. VentureLab will operate from the Markham Convergence Centre, a unique business ecosystem that also houses several entrepreneurial companies from the health sciences sector. This close proximity will offer even more opportunities for collaboration and fostering innovation in Markham Region.

Ontario's Minister of Research and Innovation Glen Murrey announcing creation of the VentureLab.

As one of the region's leading engineering companies, Quanser was invited to the announcement event to showcase the innovation that already exists in the region. The guests had an opportunity to see live demonstration of a cutting-edge Quanser technology: the tele-operation system developed by Quanser in collaboration with the University of Western Ontario. The system is used as a surgical simulator in training of health care professionals.

Quanser's engineers demonstrate the cutting-edge High definition Haptic Device HD^2 to the Counsellor Howard Sharp and Minister Glen Murrey

Quanser is prepared to support VentureLab clients in the future, providing engineering mentoring and using its expertise to help bring new technologies to market.