An intuitive interface for null space visualization and control of redundant surgical robots

Abstract

Surgery robots used to position instruments maybe redundant and therefore have null space movements which allows changing the robot’s shape without changing the desired end-effector pose. However, null space movements are often not intuitive and challenging to predict for human operators. We propose a simple interface to visualize possible null space based on a user input using force/torque sensor. The interface was implemented and tested successfully for a 7-degrees-of-freedom KUKA LBR iiwa robot. This interface was designed for any medical personnel to preview possible robot’s shapes and select a favorable one while the main surgeon independently teleoperates the end-effector pose.