Hybrid gesture control haptic system

• US 8,954,195 B2
• Filed: 11/09/2012
• Issued: 02/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Harris Corporation (L3Harris Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Harris Corporation (L3Harris Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Summer, Matthew D., Bosscher, Paul M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Khoi
• Assistant Examiner(s): PECHE, JORGE O
• Application Number:
  US13/672,774
• Publication Number:
  US 20140135991A1
• Time in Patent Office: 823 Days
• Field of Search: 701/264, 701/245, 701/247, 701/257, 701/258, 701/260, 901/3, 901/8, 901/9, 901/33, 901/34
• US Class Current: 700/264
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 13/02 Hand grip control means handles or pedals for crane control B66C13/56; for measuring the force applied to control members G01L5/22; hand-held casings for switching devices, e.g. joy-sticks H01H9/0214
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 13/025 comprising haptic means
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 13/081 Touching devices, e.g. pressure-sensitive
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 13/084 Tactile sensors in general G01L5/16, G01L5/22

Abstract

System (100) and methods (500) for remotely controlling a slave device (102). The methods involve: using a Hybrid Hand Controller (“HHC”) as a full haptic controller to control the slave device when the HHC (406) is coupled to a docking station (460); detecting when the HHC is or is being physically de-coupled from the docking station; automatically and seamlessly transitioning an operational mode of at least the HHC from a full haptic control mode to a gestural control mode, in response to a detection that the HHC is or is being de-coupled from the docking station; and using at least the HHC as a portable gestural controller to control the slave device when the HHC is de-coupled from the docking station.

Claims

1. A method for remotely controlling a slave device, comprising:

using a Hybrid Hand Controller (“

HHC”

) as a full haptic controller to control said slave device when said HHC is coupled to a docking station;

detecting when said HHC transitions from said coupled condition to a de-coupled condition in which it is physically de-coupled from said docking station;

in response to said detecting, automatically transitioning an operational mode of at least said HHC from (1) a full haptic control mode in which the slave device is controlled in accordance with physically-restricted movement of the HHC within a pre-defined area to (2) a gestural control mode in which the slave device is controlled in accordance with non-physically restricted movement of the HHC; and

using at least said HHC as a portable gestural controller to control said slave device when said HHC is de-coupled from said docking station.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein an amount of time required to automatically transition said operational mode is of a value which ensures that a user of said HHC does not experience any interruptions in a control of said slave device.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising generating directional tactile or haptic feedback such that said user feels a physical engagement of said slave device with an object.

4. The method according to claim 3, where said directional tactile or haptic feedback is generated by causing only a portion of said HHC to vibrate.

5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising selecting said portion of said HHC based on results from translating a spatial direction associated with a force applied to said slave device to a coordinate direction associated with said HHC.

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising determining said coordinate direction based on an orientation of a user'"'"'s hand relative to an orientation of said HHC.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising automatically transitioning said operational mode of said HHC from said gestural control mode to a power-save gestural control mode, in response to a detection that a distance between said HHC and said docking station is equal to or greater than a threshold value for a pre-defined period of time.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising automatically transitioning said operational mode of said HHC from a power-save gestural control mode to said gestural control mode, in response to a detection that a distance between said HHC and said docking station is equal to or less than a threshold value for a pre-defined period of time.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

detecting when said HHC is or is being physically coupled to said docking station; and

automatically transitioning said operational mode of at least said HHC from said gestural control mode to said full haptic control mode, in response to a detection that said HHC is or is being coupled to said docking station.

10. A system, comprising:

a slave device;

a docking station remotely located from said slave device; and

a Hybrid Hand Controller (“

HHC”

) configured to

operate as a full haptic controller to control said slave device when coupled to said docking station,

automatically transition an operational mode thereof from (1) a full haptic control mode in which the slave device is controlled in accordance with physically-restricted movement of the HHC within a pre-defined area to (2) a gestural control mode in which the slave device is controlled in accordance with non-physically restricted movement of the HHC, in response to a detection that said HHC is or is being de-coupled from said docking station, and

operate as a portable gestural controller to control said slave device when de- coupled from said docking station.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein an amount of time required to automatically transition said operational mode is of a value which ensures that a user of said HHC does not experience any interruptions in a control of said slave device.

12. The system according to claim 10, wherein said HHC is further configured to generate directional tactile or haptic feedback such that said user feels a physical engagement of said slave device with an object.

13. The system according to claim 12, where said directional tactile or haptic feedback is generated by causing only a portion of said HHC to vibrate.

14. The system according to claim 13, wherein said portion of said HHC is selected based on results from translating a spatial direction associated with a force applied to said slave device to a coordinate direction associated with said HHC.

15. The system according to claim 14, wherein said coordinate direction is determined based on an orientation of a user'"'"'s hand relative to an orientation of said HHC.

16. The system according to claim 10, wherein said HHC is further configured to automatically transition said operational mode from said gestural control mode to a power-save gestural control mode, in response to a detection that a distance between said HHC and said docking station is equal to or greater than a threshold value for a pre-defined period of time.

17. The system according to claim 10, wherein said HHC is further configured to automatically transition said operational mode of said HHC from a power-save gestural control mode to said gestural control mode, in response to a detection that a distance between said HHC and said docking station is equal to or less than a threshold value for a pre-defined period of time.

18. The system according to claim 10, wherein said HHC is further configured to automatically transition said operational mode from said gestural control mode to said full haptic control mode, in response to a detection that said HHC is or is being coupled to said docking station.