FROM its early use in the remote manipulation of
radioactive materials, the application of tele operation has
expanded to include manipulation at different scales and
in virtual worlds [1]. Tele operation systems are useful in
remote or hazardous operations such as space and undersea
explorations and in delicate operations such as microsurgery
and microassembly.
In a bilateral tele operation system, apart from the basic
requirement of stability, there are primarily two control design
goals for ensuring a close coupling between the human
operator and the environment. The first goal is that the slave
manipulator tracks the position of the master manipulator,
and the second goal is that the environment force acting on
the slave is accurately displayed to the master. These goals
result in transparency of the teleoperation system, meaning
that through the master manipulator, the operator feels as if
he/she is directly operating on the remote environment [2].