  Robotic teleoperation will allow us to perform complex manipulation tasks in
dangerous or remote environments, such as needed for planetary exploration or
nuclear decommissioning. This work proposes a novel telemanipulation
architecture using a passive Fractal Impedance Controller (FIC), which does not
depend upon an active viscous component for stability guarantees. Compared to a
traditional impedance controller in ideal conditions (no delays and maximum
communication bandwidth), our proposed method yields higher transparency in
interaction and demonstrates superior dexterity and capability in our
telemanipulation test scenarios. We also validate its performance with extreme
delays up to 1 s and communication bandwidths as low as 10 Hz. All results
validate a consistent stability when using the proposed controller in
challenging conditions, regardless of operator expertise.

Robotics