8-DoFs Cable Driven Parallel Robots for Bimanual Teleoperation

Teleoperation enables intuitive robot control and imitation learning, especially for complex tasks involving mobile manipulators with redundant degrees of freedom (DoFs). However, most existing leader controllers are limited to 6-DoF spatial control and basic gripper control, making them insufficient for controlling high-DoF robots and restricting the operator to a small workspace. In this work, we present a novel, low-cost, high-DoF leader controller based on cable-driven parallel robots (CDPRs), designed to overcome these limitations. The system decouples translation and orientation control, following a scalable 3 + 3 + n DoF structure: 3-DoFs for large-range translation using a CDPR, 3-DoFs for orientation using a gimbal mechanism, and n additional DoFs for gripper and redundant joint control. Its lightweight cable-driven design enables a large and adaptable workspace while minimizing actuator load. The end-effector remains stable without requiring continuous high-torque input, unlike most serial robot arms. We developed the first dual-arm CDPR-based leader controller using cost-effective actuators and a simple mechanical structure. In demonstrations, the system successfully controlled an 8-DoF robotic arm with a 2-DoF pan-tilt camera, performing tasks such as pick-and-place, knot tying, object sorting, and tape application. The results show precise, versatile, and practical high-DoF teleoperation.