Texas A&M University at Qatar
Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering
ECEN 403
Ethnographic Study Report
Student Members:
Ahmed Hesham Ragheeb
Arian Yusuf
Nouran Sabry Mohamed
Mouhyemen Ahmed Khan
Section:
903
Team Name:
N-ARM
Instructor:
Dr. Haitham Abu-Rub
Mentor:
Dr. Beena Ahmed
TA:
Dr. Ziyad Shafik
“An Aggie does not lie, cheat or steal, or tolerate those who do.”
Introduction
The ethnographic study conducted was used to help our team define some constraints that we may face in
our project. It will also help us define the various fields of application in which Tele-Operations can be
used in. To do so, we interviewed various experienced professors in the fields of computer science,
electrical engineering and mechanical engineering to gather their opinion on the project and the concept of
Tele-Operations. Also, we received feedback on how effective the project is in any field of application such
as long distance surgery, space exploration and other areas. We asked for their insight on problems we
might face in the future as the project is being implemented. This can help benefit our team by clarifying
any changes that might be required in the project design.
Case Study
We conducted three interviews with professors from three different fields; we interviewed Dr.
Shehab Ahmed, an associate professor in Electrical Engineering department at Texas A&M University at
Qatar, Dr. Mansour Karkoub, professor in Mechanical Engineering department at Texas A&M University
at Qatar and Dr. Saquib Razak, an assistant teaching professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon
University at Qatar. Each professor was asked a set of questions that aimed to investigate the constraints
that our project might face in the Tele-Operations field and the various applications that this project
design can be used in.
Dr. Shehab Ahmed has significant experience with robot hand projects. We decided to gain more
knowledge about applications in the field of Tele-Operations, but specific applications regarding a robotic
hand was required. Interviewing Dr. Shehab would provide great leverage for the team and assist us in
finalizing an application for our demonstration.
Dr. Mansour Karkoub was interviewed due to his valuable expertise in the field of Mechanical
Engineering. He specializes in mechatronics, controls and feedback systems, which would be excellent
material to learn from and design our project. Mainly Dr. Karkoub’s perspective will help the team
determine the feedback aspect between the sensor glove and the robotic hand.
Dr. Saquib Razak was interviewed due to his vast knowledge in the field of electrical engineering
and computer science. Also, his research area is on wireless networks which helps give our group a better
perspective in Tele-Operations and the wireless controlling of a robotic hand remotely using the data
glove.
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Study Analysis
Summary of the Interviews
Dr. Shehab Ahmed:
Dr. Shehab was very enthusiastic about our project in Tele-Operations. When asked about applications in
the field of Tele-Operations, Dr. Shehab gave a few viable applications that people are seriously
discussing nowadays. These include robotic surgeries and military applications such as the drones that are
recently being released around the globe. Hazardous conditions or safety in general are excellent
applications to be implemented by Tele-Operations. Applications that could be employed specifically
using a robotic hand for our project include people with disabilities. In robotic surgery as well, the tools
could be mounted on a robotic hand. We discussed our idea of an application regarding RoboNauts,
where humanoid robots are sent to space stations thousands of miles away instead of humans to resolve
urgent matters. Sometimes these RoboNauts are autonomous but mostly they are controlled using TeleOperations. Dr. Shehab thought it was an interesting idea and mentioned that Sony and Honda are very
advanced in developing humanoid robots for applications such as medical care. We asked Dr. Shehab
about the constraints that might limit this sort of technology. He indicated that the weights and size of the
object that needs to be carried, the speed of response and the size of actual device itself could all be
limitations. He confirmed that real time control is not a constraint anymore with current technology
sensors and automation, so it is possible to conduct our project in real time. We also discussed with him
what would be a good demonstration for our project. He said that unscrewing a bottle cap would be a
useful or a creative application. We wanted his opinion on our product design and he deemed it as a very
feasible project. Regarding the haptic feedback system, Dr. Shehab stated that the vibrational motors on
the sensor glove is a cheap and cost effective method to illustrate touch sensations.
Dr. Mansour Karkoub:
The scope of our project was explained to Dr. Karkoub in detail. He thought that it is a great student senior
design project and a lot of research and efforts have been executed based on this idea especially on the cable
control mechanisms and Tele-presence for medical reasons, educational reasons and virtual reality
applications. He described the haptic feedback system that could be potentially used in our project and that
it includes mostly force feedback. He also noted that there are virtual reality and augmented reality
applications that require special robots for purposes such as having a robot doing a surgery on a patient
where the doctor could be in a different country. There are two types of such robots. The first is the assisted
robot, which instructs a doctor what to do and the second is a fully automated robot that can do certain tasks
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due to the limitations of current technology. Having a robotic hand as a demonstration for our project could
serve various applications in the field of Tele-robotics. He said Tele-operations is very beneficial for
mankind, which is evident in the use of Tele-operations in lethal and critical conditions. Dr. Karkoub
classified the RoboNaut idea as a viable application but doubts the efficiency compared to a human.
According to Dr. Karkoub, plenty of research and work is being done to harness the energy from the brain
and that energy can be transformed through electronics into significant signals to control the movement of
prosthetics. It is not extremely sophisticated but there is a lot of exploration carried out especially in the
biomedical field. Dr. Karkoub mentioned that cabling could be one of the constraints that we could face in
the project due to friction and tingling. He suggested that we use an LED to indicate that contact has been
made with the robotic hand instead of vibrational motors. He also explained what haptic feedback was and
that it was a bidirectional connection that reacts to different motions. It could also be unidirectional, which
would be an easier task to accomplish within the scope of the project.
Dr. Saquib Razak:
Dr. Saquib was impressed by the project and how useful it would be in various fields in terms of
application. He discussed the concept of automated manufacturing, where the arm is used to pick up any
object and move it to the desired place; this concept is implemented in the industry. He also described
how the concept of Tele-Operation is implemented in the medical field such as remote surgery. Dr.
Saquib showed his interest in the field of Tele-Operations due to its vast majority of applications. He gave
an example of the mine collapse that occurred in Cuba, where they were trying to dig a hole that can send
humans down and up without having to worry about the mine collapsing. He related this to TeleOperations where it would be beneficial to send a drone to a place where it’s too dangerous to send a
human. We asked Dr. Saquib to help identify any possible constraints that our project can face. He
mentioned how this product is very “time critical application”. With the infrastructure that is being used
now-a-days, any product is unreliable with the response. If the product is used in a medical surgery, there
must be a very small delay between the remote (data glove) and the receiver’s side (robotic hand), a delay
as small as one millisecond. He also mentioned the concept of security. The robotic hand cannot tell the
difference between different users. For instance, if the machine is hacked by any other user, then the
robotic hand will not be able to tell. The idea of having authentication and access control makes the
product more reliable and secure for any form of use in any field. We discussed with Dr. Saquib about the
project design and any additions that can be used in the product. He was highly interested in the feedback
system, where there is the connection between the data glove and robotic hand. How the data glove
interprets pressure on the receiver side; for example, if the robotic hand hits a surface, how can the data
glove interpret pressure of the surface on the robotic hand’s side? We also discussed with Dr. Saquib
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about how efficient must the project be. He mentioned that the more sensors we include on the data glove,
the more data that will be transferred making it more problematic to process the data; this can help with
the accuracy of the product design, however, it will not be efficient. The main concern that he stressed
over was the accuracy of the connection between the robotic hand and the data glove.
Analysis Conclusion
After conducting interviews and further research, the team gained a broader perspective of our project.
We received positive feedback about the idea of demonstrating Tele-operations. We also gained
knowledge about multiple applications specifically for a robotic, so we now have a vast pool of options to
choose from. We also decided to have a feedback system that indicates touch sensations. It will be a
unidirectional haptic feedback system, in which vibrations will be sensed by the data glove through
vibrational motors when the robotic hand comes in contact with an object.
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References
Bill Moede. (2012, August 18). Destination Innovation-Episode 3: Human Exploration Telerobotics
[Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qL8powplgcI
CarnegieMellonQatar. (2011, March 20). Carnegie Mellon Qatar Building Tour [Video file]. Retrieved
from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84QMXfcrO9Q
Eye-Spy Aw, Snap!. (2013, June 18). Robotic ‘Wearable ExoSkeleton Hand’ [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lgb1x7P3Anw
Jumpei Arata [純平 荒田]. (2012, August 1). Tele-surgery robot [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mICsAkOeep4
Karkoub, M. (2013, October 30) Personal Interview.
Razak, S. (2013, October 31). Personal Interview.
Shehab, A. (2013, October 30). Personal Interview.
Texas A&M University at Qatar. (2013, January 6). 10 Years of Engineering a World of Difference
[Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYBR6yRZ4ok
Warner Bros. Pictures. (2013, September 24). Gravity – Official Main Trailer [2K HD] [Video file].
Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiTiKOy59o4
Acknowledgments
We would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Shehab Ahmed, assistant professor at Texas
A&M University at Qatar, Dr. Mansour Karkoub, professor at Texas A&M University at Qatar
and Dr. Saquib Razak, assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon University at Qatar for their
cooperation and their input in the ethnographic video and report.
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