JP7582467B2 - Remote control system and remote control method - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to a remote control system and a remote control method.

For example, in the manufacturing process of thin steel sheets, defects may occur due to foreign matter adhering to rolls installed in the manufacturing line, or due to the foreign matter getting caught in the rolls, the unevenness of the rolls themselves being transferred to the steel sheet. Such defects caused by changes in the state of the rolling rolls include, for example, point-like defects called convex and concave roughness, dull baldness, notches, pressing marks, and scratches, defects that continue in the longitudinal direction of the product called linear marks, and defects that are long in the width direction called chatter marks. These are also called roll defects. These roll defects are generally extremely minute unevenness. There is little optical difference between the part where the roll defect exists and the other parts. Therefore, roll defects are difficult to find even if observed in their original state. In other words, it is difficult to find roll defects in the manufacturing line of thin steel sheets. However, when the thin steel sheet is painted and the surface roughness is filled in with the paint to make the surface smooth, the roll defects become clearly visible, which is a major problem in terms of appearance. Moreover, roll defects are distributed periodically over the entire length of the coil because they are caused by the roll, and once they occur, they will continue to occur until the roll is replaced or the process is improved. Therefore, discovering such defects before shipment is an important issue in terms of quality control.

In order to find such minute uneven surface defects, on each inspection line in the steelmaking process, the running of the steel plate is stopped once during operation for all coils, and inspectors grind the surface with a grinding stone before visually inspecting it. When grinding is performed, the convex parts hit the grinding stone more than the concave parts, resulting in a higher reflectivity, so the difference between the concave and convex parts becomes clear and can be confirmed visually. This type of inspection is also known as grinding inspection.

However, grinding inspection requires the inspection line to be stopped and inspectors to come into contact with the steel plate, which entails risks such as cutting hands and feet on the edge of the steel plate or getting caught in a steel plate that suddenly starts moving. In other words, grinding inspection is a so-called 3K job, and automation of it is desirable.

The inventions described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 have been made to reduce the risks of such grinding inspections. This technology is characterized by using a multi-axis robot to move the grinding wheel with three degrees of freedom, and is applicable to defects that are either long in the width direction or long in the length direction. In addition, it is characterized by the fact that grinding can be performed without uneven grinding by setting the pressing force in the normal direction of the inspection object to a constant value using the width of the grinding wheel moving surface and the tensile strength of the steel plate as parameters.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 08-54326 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 07-186035

However, in the technologies described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the inspection object is ground to a fixed position in the normal direction, or ground while being pressed with a fixed force in the normal direction, so it is not possible to reproduce the delicate force applied by a skilled inspector to match the waviness of the steel plate. Therefore, there was an issue that the defect detection performance was inferior to that of conventional grinding inspection.

In view of the above, the present disclosure aims to provide a remote control system and a remote control method that can perform polishing operations remotely while maintaining the quality of the polishing operations.

A remote operation system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes an operation unit that accepts operations by an operator, a manipulator equipped with a polishing member for polishing a work object, and a control device that moves the manipulator in response to movements input by the operator to the operation unit and feeds back to the operation unit the reaction force received by the manipulator.

A remote control method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a method for remotely controlling a polishing member for polishing a work object, and includes the steps of: bringing a manipulator carrying the polishing member close to the work object; remotely controlling the manipulator by operating an operation unit of a master operation device to bring the polishing member into contact with the work object; and remotely controlling the polishing member by operating the operation unit based on the reaction force received by the polishing member, and polishing the work object with the polishing member.

According to the remote control system and remote control method disclosed herein, polishing operations can be performed remotely while maintaining the quality of the polishing operations.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a remote control system according to the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a rotation axis of a manipulator. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example in which the positions of the polishing member and the contact tool are interchanged from those in FIG. 1 . FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a configuration example for polishing a coil. 1 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure of a remote control method according to the present disclosure.

The present disclosure relates to a remote control system for remotely controlling a manipulator equipped with a polishing member that performs polishing work on a work object, and a method for remotely controlling the manipulator. As an example of polishing work, a grinding stone application inspection device and method are described in which a grinding stone, which is an example of a polishing member, is applied to a steel plate as a work object. The polishing work may include work that contacts the work object, work that generates friction with the work object, or surface treatment work on the work object.

The remote control system according to the present disclosure is configured as a master-slave system using so-called bilateral control. The remote control system realizes remote control by controlling the operation of a manipulator located away from the master control device in response to the operation movement input to the operation unit of the master control device. Industrial applications of the remote control system include various work fields such as maintenance work performed in areas of buildings or structures that are difficult for humans to access, such as high places, difficult locations, high temperature environments, or dusty environments.

Below, embodiments of a remote control system and a remote control method according to the present disclosure are described with reference to the drawings. Each drawing is schematic and may differ from the actual product. Furthermore, the following embodiments are intended to exemplify an apparatus or method for embodying the technical ideas of the present disclosure, and are not intended to specify the configuration as described below. In other words, the technical ideas of the present disclosure may be modified in various ways within the technical scope described in the claims.

First Embodiment
(Overall system configuration)
As shown in Fig. 1, the remote operation system 1 includes a master operation device 10, a slave operation device 20, and a control device 30. The master operation device 10 includes an operation unit 12. The slave operation device 20 includes a manipulator 22, and a polishing member 4 and a contact tool 5 mounted on the manipulator 22. The contact tool 5 is attached to the manipulator 22 via a damper 6. The manipulator 22 is configured as a slave arm. The polishing member 4 polishes a work object 7. The contact tool 5 is configured to come into contact with the polishing member 4 when the work object 7 is polished by the polishing member 4. The damper 6 is configured to reduce the force acting when the contact tool 5 comes into contact with the work object 7. The work object 7 is assumed to be a steel plate.

The control device 30 is communicatively connected to the master operation device 10 and the slave operation device 20 (manipulator 22). The control device 30 may be communicatively connected to the master operation device 10 or the slave operation device 20 (manipulator 22) wirelessly. The control device 30 controls the operation of the manipulator 22 in response to an operation input to the operation unit 12, and feeds back to the operation unit 12 the reaction force received by the manipulator 22.

The control device 30 may be configured to include at least one processor, such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), so as to control and manage each part of the remote control system 1. The control device 30 may be configured with one processor or multiple processors. The processor constituting the control device 30 may control and manage each part of the remote control system 1 by reading and executing a program stored in a memory unit described later.

The control device 30 may include a memory unit. The memory unit stores various information or data. The memory unit may store, for example, a program executed in the control device 30, or data or processing results used in the processing executed in the control device 30. The memory unit may also function as a work memory for the control device 30. The memory unit may be configured to include, for example, a semiconductor memory, but is not limited to this. For example, the memory unit may be configured as an internal memory of a processor used as the control device 30, or may be configured as a hard disk drive (HDD) accessible from the control device 30. The memory unit may be configured as a non-transient readable medium. The memory unit may be configured integrally with the control device 30, or may be configured separately from the control device 30.

The control device 30 may include a communication unit. The communication unit may be configured to include a communication interface for communicating with each component of the remote control system 1, such as the master operation device 10 or the slave operation device 20, by wire or wirelessly. The communication interface may be configured to be able to communicate with other devices via a network. The communication unit may be configured to include an input/output port for inputting and outputting data between each component of the remote control system 1. The communication unit transmits and receives necessary data and signals between each component of the remote control system 1. The communication unit may communicate based on a wired communication standard or may communicate based on a wireless communication standard. For example, the wireless communication standard may include a cellular phone communication standard such as 3G, 4G, or 5G. In addition, for example, the wireless communication standard may include IEEE802.11 and Bluetooth (registered trademark). The communication unit may support one or more of these communication standards. The communication unit is not limited to these examples and may communicate with other devices or input and output data based on various standards.

2, the manipulator 22 of the slave operating device 20 is a vertically articulated arm robot equipped with six axes (rotation axes) and having degrees of freedom in six axial directions. The rotation axes are referred to as the T-axis, B-axis, R-axis, U-axis, L-axis, and S-axis, in that order from the tip of the manipulator 22. As long as the manipulator 22 is configured to be remotely operated by the master operating device 10, it is not limited to being an arm, and may be configured as a device having various structures or shapes.

The operation unit 12 of the master operation device 10 accepts operation input by an operator. As an example, the operation unit 12 is a vertical multi-joint arm robot similar to the manipulator 22. The operation unit 12 of the master operation device 10 and the manipulator 22 of the slave operation device 20 are configured in the same or similar manner, so that the master-slave control system as the remote operation system 1 can be easily controlled. The master operation device 10 and the slave operation device 20 do not necessarily have to be configured in a similar shape or with the same degree of freedom. The operation unit 12 may be configured as an operation axis or as a rotary controller such as a jog shuttle. The operation unit 12 may be configured in various manners without being limited to these examples.

The control device 30 controls the master operation device 10 and feeds back to the master operation device 10 the position (angle) of each part of the manipulator 22 and the reaction force acting on each part of the manipulator 22. Specifically, the control device 30 is configured to be able to transmit in both directions by bilateral control the position and orientation of the tip of the manipulator 22, the trajectory of which is calculated from the angle of the arm of the manipulator 22, and the reaction force acting on each part of the manipulator 22. When the arm of the manipulator 22 is configured as a multi-joint robot, the control device 30 may be configured to transmit the torque of a drive motor provided at each joint of the manipulator 22 to the master operation device 10 as a reaction force.

A grinding wheel serving as a grinding member 4 for grinding the surface of a steel plate serving as a workpiece 7 is attached to the manipulator 22. In the configuration illustrated in FIG. 1, the grinding member 4 is attached to a part that rotates on a T-axis at the tip of the manipulator 22.

A damper 6 is attached to the manipulator 22 as a contact member that transmits a reaction force. The damper 6 has a buffer function. In the configuration illustrated in FIG. 1, the damper 6 includes a first rod that protrudes between the T axis (see FIG. 2) and the B axis (see FIG. 2), and a second rod that extends from the tip of the first rod in a direction intersecting the first rod. The shape of the damper 6 is not limited to a rod, and may be configured with dimensions and a shape that allows it to approach and come into contact with the workpiece 7 ahead of the manipulator 22 or together with the manipulator 22.

The contact tool 5 is attached to the tip of the damper 6 (the tip of the second rod). The contact member can be said to include the damper 6 or the contact tool 5. The contact tool 5 has a contact surface shaped to conform to the surface of the steel plate, which is the work object 7, so that it can easily contact the work object 7. The shape of the contact tool 5 may be a flat block member when the steel plate, which is the work object 7, is flat, or a curved cover member when the steel plate, which is the work object 7, is curved. The contact tool 5 is arranged side by side with the polishing member 4. The position of the contact tool 5 is adjusted so that when it contacts the surface of the steel plate, which is the work object 7, the polishing surface of the polishing member 4 (the grinding surface of the grinding wheel) is parallel to the surface (or the tangent to the surface) of the steel plate, which is the work object 7, and the polishing member 4 contacts (comes into contact with) the steel plate, which is the work object 7, in a state where it is pressed with an appropriate force (a predetermined reaction force acts).

(Polishing method)
When performing a grinding inspection (polishing work) on a steel plate, which is the work object 7, the worker first operates the operation unit 12 of the master operation device 10 to bring the manipulator 22 close to the steel plate, which is the work object 7. The worker then operates the operation unit 12 to bring the polishing member 4 into contact with the surface of the steel plate, which is the work object 7.

Here, when the polishing member 4 is brought into contact with the steel plate, which is the work object 7, the worker brings the contact tool 5 attached to the manipulator 22 via the damper 6 into contact with the steel plate, which is the work object 7, before the polishing member 4 or together with the polishing member 4. At this time, a reaction force acts on the manipulator 22 from the steel plate, which is the work object 7, via the polishing member 4 and the contact tool 5. The worker can operate the damper 6 to support the manipulator 22 by operating while detecting the reaction force acting from the steel plate, which is the work object 7, with the operation unit 12. Then, while supporting the manipulator 22 with the damper 6 against the steel plate, which is the work object 7, the worker adjusts the position and orientation at which the polishing member 4 attached to the tip of the manipulator 22 comes into contact with the steel plate, which is the work object 7, against the target work target location on the surface of the steel plate, which is the work object 7.

The damper 6 is provided on the base side of the manipulator 22 from the point having the degree of freedom of the first axis (T-axis) from the tip side of the manipulator 22. In this way, after the contact tool 5 is brought into contact with the steel plate, which is the work object 7, the polishing member 4 alone can be freely rotated about the T-axis to a direction parallel to the surface of the steel plate, which is the work object 7, without moving the contact tool 5.

Thereafter, the worker operates the operation unit 12 of the master operation device 10 based on the reaction force (reaction force of the manipulator 22) that the polishing member 4 receives from the steel plate, which is the work object 7, to polish (grind) the surface of the steel plate, which is the work object 7, with the polishing member 4. When polishing (grinding) the surface of the steel plate, which is the work object 7, extensively, the polishing (grinding) is performed by using the operation of each axis of the manipulator 22 to move the polishing member 4 and the contact tool 5 together in a direction along the surface of the steel plate, which is the work object 7, with the contact tool 5 remaining in contact with the steel plate, which is the work object 7.

As described above, the operator can operate the operation unit 12 of the master operation device 10 based on the reaction force that the polishing member 4 receives from the steel plate, which is the work object 7, and perform the polishing work (grinding inspection) while adjusting the contact of the polishing member 4 while feeling the reaction force even from a remote location. In addition, by abutting the contact tool 5 against the steel plate, which is the work object 7, the force pressing the polishing member 4 against the work object 7 becomes more stable when the polishing member 4 is rotated or moved relative to the steel plate, which is the work object 7. The quality of the polishing work can be controlled by the force pressing the polishing member 4 against the work object 7. The quality of the polishing work can be improved by stabilizing the force pressing the polishing member 4 against the work object 7. This makes it possible to reproduce the subtle force adjustment that is performed by a skilled inspector in accordance with the undulations of the work object 7 (steel plate).

Second Embodiment
(composition)
3, the remote control system 1 according to the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the damper 6 and the contact tool 5 are located closer to the base than the B axis (attached between the B axis and the R axis). That is, the damper 6 is attached at a position where the polishing member 4 is driven by at least two axes, the T axis and the B axis (so as to be movable by two axes) with the contact tool 5 abutting (contacting) the workpiece 7, which is a steel plate.

In the second embodiment, the worker fixes the contact tool 5 in contact with the steel plate, which is the work object 7, and contacts the polishing member 4 with the surface of the steel plate, which is the work object 7, using the B axis, which is the second from the tip side of the manipulator 22. The worker can freely change the direction of only the polishing member 4 in a direction parallel to the surface of the steel plate, which is the work object 7, using the T axis, which is the first from the tip side of the manipulator 22. Therefore, the worker can fine-tune the way the polishing member 4 contacts the work object 7 without moving the contact tool 5 after the contact tool 5 has contacted, and can freely move the position of the polishing member 4. In FIG. 3, the contact tool 5 is attached closer to the base than the B axis, but it may be attached closer to the base than the R axis, that is, in a position where the polishing member 4 is driven by three or more axes with the contact tool 5 in contact with the steel plate, which is the work object 7.

In the second embodiment, the reaction force that the damper 6 or the contact tool 5 receives from the work object 7, which is the steel plate, is detected by an axis (such as the R axis or U axis) located closer to the base than the damper 6. The reaction force that the polishing member 4 receives from the work object 7, which is the steel plate, is detected by the T axis or B axis located closer to the tip than the damper 6. In other words, the reaction force received by the polishing member 4 and the reaction force received by the damper 6 or the contact tool 5 can be detected separately. By detecting the reaction forces separately, the worker can fine-tune the contact of the polishing member 4 with the work object 7, which is the steel plate, based on the reaction force, and can perform the polishing work (grinding stone inspection) with high precision.

(Polishing method)
The polishing method will be described below. The steel plate as the work object 7 is placed in an inspection room. The steel plate as the work object 7 is suspended in midair with tension applied in the rolling direction. The steel plate as the work object 7 may be placed in contact with the floor without tension. An operator operates the manipulator 22 from an operation room separate from the inspection room.

First, the worker operates the operation unit 12 of the master operation device 10 in the operation room, and brings the contact tool 5 attached to the manipulator 22 through the damper 6 into contact with the surface of the steel plate, which is the work object 7. At this time, the reaction force (the reaction force of the manipulator 22) caused by the contact tool 5 coming into contact with the steel plate, which is the work object 7, is fed back to the master operation device 10 by bilateral control. The worker can sense the reaction force fed back as a resistance force when moving the operation unit 12. The worker brings the contact tool 5 into contact with the steel plate, which is the work object 7, while feeling the feedback reaction force, thereby maintaining a constant distance between the manipulator 22 and the steel plate, which is the work object 7. Then, while supporting the manipulator 22 with the damper 6 (contact tool 5) against the steel plate, which is the work object 7, the worker moves the T-axis or B-axis located at the tip side of the point where the contact tool 5 is attached, thereby moving the polishing member 4 along the surface of the steel plate, which is the work object 7, to perform polishing (grinding).

In addition, an operator can observe the image from the operation room by displaying an image of the positions of the manipulator 22 and the polishing member 4 in the inspection room taken by a camera or the like on a display in the operation room. The inspection room may be configured so as to be visible through a window from the operation room. The inspection room and the operation room do not need to be separated. In this case, the master operation device 10 and the slave operation device 20 may be placed separately in the same room.

According to the polishing method described above, the worker can adjust the contact of the polishing member 4 with the work object 7, the steel plate, while feeling the reaction force from a distance and without coming into contact with the work object 7, the steel plate. As a result, the worker can perform the polishing work (grinding inspection) as if he were directly applying a grindstone to the work object 7, the steel plate. This makes it possible to reproduce the subtle force adjustments that are made to match the undulations of the work object 7 (steel plate), as performed by a skilled inspector.

Third Embodiment
The remote control system 1 according to the third embodiment differs from the first and second embodiments in that the work object 7, that is, a steel plate, is wound in a roll shape (formed into a coil), as shown in FIG.

The contact tool 5 has a curved contact surface that matches the surface shape of the rolled steel plate. This makes it easier for the contact tool 5 to move along the cylindrical surface of the steel plate while contacting the surface of the steel plate, which is the work object 7. The contact tool 5 is attached to the base side (i.e., between the T axis and the B axis) of the manipulator 22 from the T axis located first at the tip side via the damper 6. The contact tool 5 contacts the rolled steel plate, which is the work object 7, so that the distance between the manipulator 22 and the steel plate is kept constant. The position of the contact tool 5 is adjusted so that when it contacts the surface of the rolled steel plate, which is the work object 7, the polishing surface of the polishing member 4 (the grinding surface of the grinding wheel) is parallel to the tangent of the surface of the rolled steel plate, which is the work object 7, and the polishing member 4 contacts the steel plate, which is the work object 7, in a state where it is pressed with an appropriate force.

The worker can perform the polishing work (grinding inspection) by sliding the polishing member 4 against the surface of the steel plate while maintaining a constant distance between the manipulator 22 and the surface of the work object 7 (rolled steel plate). If the polishing (grinding) object is a curved surface, if the degree of freedom for moving the polishing member 4 is too high, the worker needs to be skilled in order to stabilize the way the polishing member 4 touches the steel plate and polish it. Therefore, by attaching the contact tool 5 between the first T-axis and the second B-axis on the tip side of the manipulator 22 and deliberately limiting the degree of freedom of the polishing member 4 to the T-axis, even an unskilled person can easily polish (grind). This makes it possible to reproduce the subtle force adjustment that matches the undulations of the work object 7 (rolled steel plate) as performed by a skilled inspector.

Three embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, but the present disclosure is not limited to the configurations of the above-described embodiments and may include various other embodiments. For example, the work object 7 is not limited to a steel plate, and materials such as a steel pipe may be polished. The polishing member 4 is not limited to a grinding stone, and a polishing cloth or paper may be used. The polishing work is not limited to a grinding inspection using a grinding stone, and polishing for defect removal may be performed.

In addition, the manipulator 22 does not necessarily have to include a contact member, i.e., the damper 6 or the contact tool 5. If the manipulator 22 does not include the damper 6 or the contact tool 5, the worker can directly contact the polishing member 4 with the surface of the steel plate, which is the work object 7, and adjust the way in which the polishing member 4 contacts the steel plate, which is the work object 7, by operating the operation unit 12 of the master operation device 10 based on the reaction force received by the polishing member 4.

<Example>
An example of remote control of a polishing operation by the remote control system 1 shown in Fig. 3 will be described. In this example, polishing (grinding) of the surface of a steel plate, which is a work object 7, was performed. The steel plate, which is the work object 7, is assumed to be a part of a steel plate midway through a continuous line with a length of several thousand meters. The steel plate, which is the work object 7, is assumed to be suspended in midair under tension applied in the rolling direction.

The worker operated the operation unit 12 of the master operation device 10 in the operation room and brought the contact tool 5 attached to the manipulator 22 via the damper 6 into contact with the surface of the steel plate, which is the work object 7. At this time, the reaction force caused by the contact of the manipulator 22 (contact tool 5) with the steel plate, which is the work object 7, is fed back to the master operation device 10 by bilateral control. The worker was able to feel the fed back reaction force as a resistance when moving the operation unit 12. The worker was able to maintain a constant distance from the manipulator 22 to the steel plate, which is the work object 7, by moving the operation unit 12 while feeling the resistance and bringing the contact tool 5 into contact with the steel plate, which is the work object 7. In addition, the worker was able to perform polishing (grinding) by moving the polishing member 4 against the surface of the steel plate, which is the work object 7, using the T-axis or B-axis located on the tip side of the place where the contact tool 5 was attached, while supporting the manipulator 22 with the damper 6 (contact tool 5) against the steel plate, which is the work object 7. In this way, the worker can control the contact of the polishing member 4 (grindstone) while feeling the reaction force from a distance and without coming into contact with the steel plate, which is the work object 7. As a result, the worker can perform the polishing work (grindstone application inspection) as if he or she were directly applying the grindstone to the steel plate, which is the work object 7.

<Flowchart>
The remote control system 1 may execute a remote control method including the procedure of the flowchart illustrated in Fig. 5. The remote control method may be realized as a remote control program executed by a processor constituting the remote control system 1. The remote control program may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium.

The control device 30 brings the manipulator 22 close to the work target 7 (step S1). Specifically, the control device 30 acquires the operation content input to the operation unit 12 of the master operation device 10, and moves the manipulator 22 in accordance with the movement of the operation unit 12.

The control device 30 brings the polishing member 4 attached to the manipulator 22 into contact with the workpiece 7 (step S2). The control device 30 controls the contact pressure of the polishing member 4 (step S3). Specifically, the worker senses the reaction force fed back to the operation unit 12 and operates the operation unit 12. The control device 30 controls the contact pressure of the polishing member 4 in response to the movement of the operation unit 12 by the worker.

The control device 30 drives the grinding member 4 (step S4). Specifically, the control device 30 drives the portion to which the grinding member 4 is attached in response to the movement of the operating unit 12 by the operator. When the operator inputs an instruction to rotate the T-axis, the control device 30 may rotate the T-axis to rotate the grinding member 4.

The control device 30 determines whether polishing is complete (step S5). Specifically, the control device 30 may determine whether polishing is complete based on input from the operator. If polishing is not complete (step S5: NO), the control device 30 returns to the contact pressure control procedure of step S3 to continue the polishing operation. If polishing is complete (step S5: YES), the control device 30 moves the polishing member 4 away from the workpiece 7 (step S6). After executing the procedure of step S6, the control device 30 ends execution of the procedure of the flowchart in FIG. 5.

As described above, according to the remote control system 1 and remote control method of the present disclosure, the master operation device 10 uses the polishing member 4 attached to the tip of the manipulator 22 to polish the steel plate, which is the work object 7. During polishing, the reaction force received by the polishing member 4 is fed back to the master operation device 10. In this way, the worker can adjust the contact condition of the polishing member 4 with the steel plate, which is the work object 7, while feeling the reaction force even from a remote location without approaching the work object 7, and can perform the polishing work as if polishing directly. In addition, by attaching the damper 6 or the contact tool 5 to the manipulator 22, it becomes easy for the worker to stably apply the polishing member 4 parallel to the surface of the work object 7. As a result, the efficiency and stability of the polishing work are improved.

Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described based on the drawings and examples, it should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various modifications or alterations based on the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these modifications or alterations are included in the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the functions included in each component or step can be rearranged so as not to cause logical inconsistencies, and multiple components or steps can be combined into one or divided. The embodiments of the present disclosure can also be realized as a program executed by a processor included in the device or a storage medium on which a program is recorded. It should be understood that these are also included in the scope of the present disclosure.

1 Remote control system 4 Polishing member 5 Contact tool (an example of a contact member)
6 Damper (an example of a contact member)
7 Work object 10 Master operation device (12: operation unit)
20 Slave operation device (22: manipulator)
30 Control device

Claims (7)

an operation unit that accepts operations by an operator;
a manipulator equipped with a polishing member for polishing a workpiece;
a control device that moves the manipulator in response to a movement input by the operator to the operation unit and feeds back a reaction force received by the manipulator to the operation unit,
A remote operation system, wherein the manipulator further includes a contact member configured to come into contact with the work piece before the polishing member comes into contact with the work piece. The remote control system according to claim 1, wherein the manipulator is mounted with the contact member such that the polishing member is driven by only one axis of the manipulator when the contact member is in contact with the workpiece. The remote control system according to claim 1, wherein the contact member has a contact tool on the part that contacts the workpiece, the contact tool having a shape that matches the surface shape of the workpiece. The remote control system according to claim 3, wherein the abrasive surface of the abrasive member is configured to be parallel to the surface of the workpiece or a tangent to the surface when the abrasive contacts the surface of the workpiece. The remote control system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the contact member includes a damper having a cushioning function. The manipulator comprises at least two axes;
The remote control system according to claim 1 , 3 or 4 , wherein the contact member is attached at a position where the polishing member is driven about at least two axes while in contact with the workpiece. 1. A method for remotely controlling a polishing member for polishing a workpiece and a contact member configured to come into contact with the workpiece before the polishing member comes into contact with the workpiece , comprising:
a step of bringing a manipulator carrying the polishing member and the contact member into close proximity with the workpiece;
a step of remotely operating the manipulator by operating an operation unit of a master operation device to bring the polishing member and the contact member into contact with the workpiece;
and remotely controlling the polishing member and the contact member by operating the operating unit based on the reaction force received by the polishing member and the contact member, and polishing the work object with the polishing member.

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