Catching the moving object by a robot manipulator when controlling the robot via the Internet is considered at this paper. The object was the rod on bifilar suspension, performing complicated oscillations. Task statement and capture algorithms are presented. Shared autonomy control was used to implement the capture. Operator forms initial motion of the rod, chooses desired point for capture on the rod and capture instant. Final operation is performed automatically. Operator plans capture strategy using 3D on-line virtual model of the robot and object in its current positions. Capture operation is performed using motion prediction algorithm, based on the object’s motion model. Experimental test-bed, remote control interface are presented. The particulars of the system, the experiments undertaken, current issues, and directions of the future work are discussed. Video film will demonstrate results of the work.

The paper presents the results in controlling the robot manipulator handling the moving object of various types. Two series of experiments were carried out using the rod swinging on the bifilar suspension, and the tennis balls swinging as spherical pendulums. The main part of the experiments with the rod was devoted to finding efficient ways for its fast and reliable capturing. The experiments with the ball were focused on modifying the motion of the ball in such a way for its orbit has the desirable parameters. In particular, the ball was directed to reach the motionless target placed inside the working space, or perform a rendezvous with another ball having an independent free motion. The TV camera supplied the computer with the visual data of the scene. The dynamical models of the motion of the objects were used for statistical processing the visual data and determining the parameters of the motion. These parameters were used for controlling the robot.

The paper contents description of the experiments on capturing the moving object by means of a robot manipulator RM-01 (like PUMA 560) with vision system. The object to be grasped is the rod on a bifilar suspension. The upper ends of the fibers are attached to the stable beam which holds a TV camera connected to a computer. Data processing results in the coordinates of the end points of the rod. The algorithm developed gives the possibility to obtain up to 25 pairs of end points per second. The data are subjected to statistical analysis taking into account the dynamic model of the rod motion. The results obtained for the 0.5 s interval allow us to calculate the initial conditions of the rod motion and to predict the motion to several seconds ahead. Analysis of the predicted motion allows us to determine the proper moment of capture, and the position of the manipulator grip at that moment. The capture is implemented in 2-5 s after the start of the process, within 1-2 periods of longitudinal and lateral modes of the rod oscillation.