Abstract
Tele-existence is an advanced type of tele-operation system which enables an operator at the control to perform remote manipulation tasks dexterously with the feeling that he or she exists inside an anthropomorphic robot as a virtual exsoskeleton robot working in the remote environment. A tele-existence manipulation system was constructed and was evaluated quantitatively by comparing tasks of tracking a randomly moving target under several operational conditions. The effects of various characteristics, e.g., binocular vision and the effect of natural arrangement of the head and the arm, were analyzed by comparing quantitatively the results under these operational conditions. Human tracking transfer function was measured and was used for comparison. A manipulation task of block building was also conducted under several operational conditions including motion stereo. The time elapsed for the completion of the task was used as the criterion for the comparison. The results revealed the significant dominance of the binocular vision with natural arrangement of the head and the arm, which is the most important characteristic of tele existence.
