Development of a Multisensory Saddle as Input Device for Teleoperation

Kurzfassung

Due to demographic change and a skilled labour shortage in healthcare professions it is of high importance to explore technological assistance in healthcare. This thesis aims to develop a multisensory saddle as an additional input device to the HUG (Haptisches User Gerät) to be used for teleoperation in the SMiLE (Servicerobotik für Menschen in Lebenssituationen mit Einschränkungen) ecosystem. Since the HUG's input is limited to two robotic arms, the operator cannot control the mobile platform and the arms of a robot at the same time. Adding the saddle developed in this thesis to the HUG setup will resolve this, allowing the operator to control a robotic platform by pressing sensors with their legs. After evaluating different sensors, a sensor module is developed around a spring-loaded potentiometer, which is placed on the saddle adjustably to account for differences in the operators' height. Following the implementation of the necessary software infrastructure, the saddle will be validated in a user study comparing two different steering approaches: differential driving with and without the additional option to drive sideways. Obtaining mostly positive results about both the functionality to drive sideways and the saddle as an input device from the study thus concludes the development of a first prototype for the saddle.