This paper describes a manufacturing system that allows the natural manipulation of tools of production and raw material in environments which cannot be accessed directly by normal human senses. Examples of such environments may be remote locations, the micrometer world or outer space. In the context of the paper, the term “hyper-environment” connotes such an environment. The paper discusses the functions which are necessary to realize the system, the software and hardware which are employed in the system and the “reality communication” techniques which are needed to allow the remote human operator to effectively monitor the manufacturing operation. A focus of the paper is a technique for transforming cutting force information into auditory information that allows the operator to determine the cutting conditions. Furthermore, a technique which was employed for judging the machining state from force data, which significantly reduces the amount of data which must be communicated to determine the cutting state, is discussed. Tests in which a machining center in Tokyo was controlled by teleoperators in Washington are described.

Mitsuishi, M., Warisawa, S., Hatamura, Y., Nagao, T., & Kramer, B. (1992). Human-Friendly Operating System for Hyper-Environments. Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics, 4(2), 167–178.