Manipulating Virtual Objects With a Haptic Glove Based on Soft Pneumatic Muscles

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jukka Kuusisto ◽  
Asko Ellman ◽  
Joonas Reunamo ◽  
Joonatan Kuosa
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Force Feedback ◽  
Haptic Feedback ◽  
Hand Position ◽  
Position Information ◽  
Data Glove ◽  
Virtual Objects ◽  
University Of Technology ◽  
Pneumatic Muscles ◽  
Magnetic Tracker

In mechanical engineering, hardware mock-ups are increasingly being replaced by virtual models. Virtual environments enable the testing of different designs with considerable savings on time and money. Haptic feedback helps the user in getting a realistic conception about the cabin dimensions and how different controls actually look and feel. The haptic interface must be convenient to use and give realistic feedback on the functioning of the controls. The haptic force-feedback glove “SPM Glove” with soft pneumatic muscles — SPMs for short — on the palm side has been developed at the Department of Mechanics and Design at Tampere University of Technology. The glove provides force feedback to the thumb, index, and middle fingertips. In this paper, the usability of the SPM Glove for grasping, moving, and comparing the size of virtual objects is investigated. For achieving finger position information, the SPM Glove was worn over a data glove. Hand position was tracked with a magnetic tracker. The results indicate that users find manipulating cylindrical objects easier, more comfortable, and more natural with force feedback provided by the SPM Glove than without it. Moreover, all test users managed to arrange three invisible virtual cylinders of different sizes in order of increasing thickness using the SPM Glove.

Integrating a Grasp Exoskeleton Into a String-Based Interface for Human-Scale Interactions

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rasul Fesharakifard ◽  
Maryam Khalili ◽  
Laure Leroy ◽  
Alexis Paljic ◽  
Philippe Fuchs
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Force Feedback ◽  
Control Method ◽  
Hybrid Control ◽  
Force Sensor ◽  
Virtual Objects ◽  
Rotary Encoder ◽  
Human Scale ◽  
Novel Design

A grasp exoskeleton actuated by a string-based platform is proposed to provide the force feedback for a user’s hand in human-scale virtual environments. The user of this interface accedes to seven active degrees of freedom in interaction with virtual objects, which comprises three degrees of translation, three degrees of rotation, and one degree of grasping. The exoskeleton has a light and ergonomic structure and provides the grasp gesture for five fingers. The actuation of the exoskeleton is performed by eight strings that are the parallel arms of the platform. Each string is connected to a block of motor, rotary encoder, and force sensor with a novel design to create the necessary force and precision for the interface. A hybrid control method based on the string’s tension measured by the force sensor is developed to resolve the ordinary problems of string-based interface. The blocks could be moved on a cubic frame around the virtual environment. Finally the results of preliminary experimentation of interface are presented to show its practical characteristics. Also the interface is mounted on an automotive model to demonstrate its industrial adaptability.

scholarly journals Haptic Virtual Environments for Blind People: Exploratory Experiments with Two Devices

1999 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Jansson ◽  
H Petrie ◽  
C Colwell ◽  
D. Kornbrot ◽  
J. Fänger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Force Feedback ◽  
Virtual Object ◽  
Blind People ◽  
Haptic Devices ◽  
Virtual Objects ◽  
3D Objects

This paper is a fusion of two independent studies investigating related problems concerning the use of haptic virtual environments for blind people: a study in Sweden using a PHANToM 1.5 A and one in the U.K. using an Impulse Engine 3000. In general, the use of such devices is a most interesting option to provide blind people with information about representations of the 3D world, but the restriction at each moment to only one point of contact between observer and virtual object might decrease their effectiveness. The studies investigated the perception of virtual textures, the identification of virtual objects and the perception of their size and angles. Both sighted (blindfolded in one study) and blind people served as participants. It was found (1) that the PHANToM can effectively render textures in the form of sandpapers and simple 3D geometric forms and (2) that the Impulse Engine can effectively render textures consisting of grooved surfaces, as well as 3D objects, properties of which were, however, judged with some over- or underestimation. When blind and sighted participants' performance was compared differences were found that deserves further attention. In general, the haptic devices studied have demonstrated the great potential of force feedback devices in rendering relatively simple environments, in spite of the restricted ways they allow for exploring the virtual world. The results highly motivate further studies of their effectiveness, especially in more complex contexts.

Finger Mechanism of a Haptic Glove for Force Feedback in Virtual Environments

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Conrad Bullion ◽  
Goktug A. Dazkir ◽  
Hakan Gurocak
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Force Feedback ◽  
Bottom Surface ◽  
Force Analysis ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Virtual Objects ◽  
Simulated Environment ◽  
Grasping Forces ◽  
Distributed Forces

In this paper we present details of a finger mechanism designed as part of an ongoing research on a force feedback glove. The glove will be used in virtual reality applications where it will provide force feedback to the user as he grasps virtual objects. Haptic (touch and force) feedback is an essential component to make the simulated environment feel more realistic to the user. The design employs an innovative mechanism that wraps around each finger. Each mechanism is controlled by one cable. By controlling the tension on the cable and the displacement of the cable, we can control the amount of force applied to the user’s finger at any given position of the mechanism. The glove can provide distributed forces at the bottom surface of each finger while reducing the number of actuators and sensors. First kinematic and force analysis of the mechanism along with experimental verifications are presented. Following description of an experiment to determine grasping forces, we conclude with an overview of the next steps in this research.

scholarly journals Prototyping and Design for Assembly Analysis Using Multimodal Virtual Environments

1995 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rakesh Gupta ◽  
David Zeltzer
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Force Feedback ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
3D Models ◽  
Design Tool ◽  
Design For Assembly ◽  
Manual Assembly ◽  
Virtual Objects ◽  
Assembly Analysis

Abstract This work investigates whether estimates of ease of part handling and part insertion can be provided by multimodal simulation using virtual environment (VE) technology, rather than by using conventional table-based methods such as Boothroyd and Dewhurst Charts. To do this, a unified physically based model has been developed for modeling dynamic interactions among virtual objects and haptic interactions between the human designer and the virtual objects. This model is augmented with auditory events in a multimodal VE system called the “Virtual Environment for Design for Assembly” (VEDA). Currently these models are 2D in order to preserve interactive update rates, but we expect that these results will be generalizable to 3d models. VEDA has been used to evaluate the feasibility and advantages of using multimodal virtual environments as a design tool for manual assembly. The designer sees a visual representation of the objects and can interactively sense and manipulate virtual objects through haptic interface devices with force feedback. He/She can feel these objects and hear sounds when there are collisions among the objects. Objects can be interactively grasped and assembled with other parts of the assembly to prototype new designs and perform Design for Assembly analysis. Experiments have been conducted with human subjects to investigate whether Multimodal Virtual Environments are able to replicate experiments linking increases in assembly time with increase in task difficulty. In particular, the effect of clearance, friction, chamfers and distance of travel on handling and insertion time have been compared in real and virtual environments for peg-in-hole assembly task. In addition, the effects of degrading/removing the different modes (visual, auditory and haptic) on different phases of manual assembly have been examined.

scholarly journals Design and Construction of a New Haptic Interface

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas M. Kunz ◽  
Adrian Burri
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Force Feedback ◽  
Haptic Feedback ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Product Development Process ◽  
Haptic Interface ◽  
Haptic Interfaces ◽  
Machine Control ◽  
Natural Way

Abstract Virtual Reality becomes more and more important within the product development process. It enables the engineer to realize constraints or mistakes in the product design at a very early stage by viewing the digital geometric prototype. Beside viewing the design of a product, additional functionalities like simulation of assembling, the physically correct behavior of a machine or the machine control come into focus of interest. Therefore, the interaction modality of haptic feedback gains more and more importance for simulation tasks in virtual environments. However there are only a few portable haptic interfaces with which the user can experience in a natural way the sensation of force feedback. The scope of this paper is to present a new passive haptic interface that is lightweight and easy to use. Furthermore it has no constraints in the workspace and applies high forces to the fingertips of the user by blocking the natural grasping.

Perception-Based Traffic Control for Shared Haptic Virtual Environments

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 320-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clemens Schuwerk ◽  
Giulia Paggetti ◽  
Rahul Chaudhari ◽  
Eckehard Steinbach
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Traffic Control ◽  
Force Feedback ◽  
Haptic Feedback ◽  
Dead Reckoning ◽  
Distributed Applications ◽  
Haptic Device ◽  
Object State ◽  
Feedback Quality

Shared Haptic Virtual Environments (SHVEs) are often realized using a client–server communication architecture. In this case, a centralized physics engine, running on the server, is used to simulate the object-states in the virtual environment (VE). At the clients, a copy of the VE is maintained and used to render the interaction forces locally, which are then displayed to the human through a haptic device. While this architecture ensures stability in the coupling between the haptic device and the virtual environment, it necessitates a high number of object-state update packets transmitted from the server to the clients to achieve satisfactory force feedback quality. In this paper, we propose a perception-based traffic control scheme to reduce the number of object-state update packets by allowing a variable but not perceivable object-state error at the client. To find a balance between packet rate reduction and force rendering fidelity, our approach uses different error thresholds for the visual and haptic modality, where the haptic thresholds are determined by psychophysical experiments in this paper. Force feedback quality is evaluated with subjective tests for a variety of different traffic control parameter settings. The results show that the proposed scheme reduces the packet rate by up to 97%, compared to communication approaches that work without data reduction. At the same time, the proposed scheme does not degrade the haptic feedback quality significantly. Finally, it outperforms well-known dead reckoning, commonly used in visual-only distributed applications.

Development and Testing of a Telemanipulation System With Arm and Hand Motion

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael L. Turner ◽  
Ryan P. Findley ◽  
Weston B. Griffin ◽  
Mark R. Cutkosky ◽  
Daniel H. Gomez
Keyword(s):  
Force Feedback ◽  
Haptic Feedback ◽  
Industrial Robot ◽  
Robot Hand ◽  
Robot Arm ◽  
Task Execution ◽  
Hand Motion ◽  
Instrumented Glove ◽  
Simple Manipulation ◽  
Dexterous Robot Hand

Abstract This paper describes the development of a system for dexterous telemanipulation and presents the results of tests involving simple manipulation tasks. The user wears an instrumented glove augmented with an arm-grounded haptic feedback apparatus. A linkage attached to the user’s wrist measures gross motions of the arm. The movements of the user are transferred to a two fingered dexterous robot hand mounted on the end of a 4-DOF industrial robot arm. Forces measured at the robot fingers can be transmitted back to the user via the haptic feedback apparatus. The results obtained in block-stacking and object-rolling experiments indicate that the addition of force feedback to the user did not improve the speed of task execution. In fact, in some cases the presence of incomplete force information is detrimental to performance speed compared to no force information. There are indications that the presence of force feedback did aid in task learning.

Semi-Immersive Virtual Turbine Engine Simulation System

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mustufa H. Abidi ◽  
Abdulrahman M. Al-Ahmari ◽  
Ali Ahmad ◽  
Saber Darmoul ◽  
Wadea Ameen
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Force Feedback ◽  
Haptic Feedback ◽  
Design System ◽  
Detection Mechanism ◽  
Turbine Engine ◽  
Surround Sound ◽  
Process Verification ◽  
Engine Simulation ◽  
Assembly Operations

AbstractThe design and verification of assembly operations is essential for planning product production operations. Recently, virtual prototyping has witnessed tremendous progress, and has reached a stage where current environments enable rich and multi-modal interaction between designers and models through stereoscopic visuals, surround sound, and haptic feedback. The benefits of building and using Virtual Reality (VR) models in assembly process verification are discussed in this paper. In this paper, we present the virtual assembly (VA) of an aircraft turbine engine. The assembly parts and sequences are explained using a virtual reality design system. The system enables stereoscopic visuals, surround sounds, and ample and intuitive interaction with developed models. A special software architecture is suggested to describe the assembly parts and assembly sequence in VR. A collision detection mechanism is employed that provides visual feedback to check the interference between components. The system is tested for virtual prototype and assembly sequencing of a turbine engine. We show that the developed system is comprehensive in terms of VR feedback mechanisms, which include visual, auditory, tactile, as well as force feedback. The system is shown to be effective and efficient for validating the design of assembly, part design, and operations planning.

Torque Control of Electrorheological Fluidic Resistive Actuators for Haptic Vehicular Instrument Controls

2005 ◽  
Vol 128 (2) ◽  
pp. 216-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Vitrani ◽  
J. Nikitczuk ◽  
G. Morel ◽  
C. Mavroidis ◽  
B. Weinberg
Keyword(s):  
Electric Fields ◽  
Closed Loop ◽  
Force Feedback ◽  
Haptic Feedback ◽  
Control Device ◽  
Torque Control ◽  
Feedback Mechanisms ◽  
Feedforward Loop ◽  
Integral Controller ◽  
Proportional Integral Controller

Force-feedback mechanisms have been designed to simplify and enhance the human-vehicle interface. The increase in secondary controls within vehicle cockpits has created a desire for a simpler, more efficient human-vehicle interface. By consolidating various controls into a single, haptic feedback control device, information can be transmitted to the operator, without requiring the driver’s visual attention. In this paper, the experimental closed loop torque control of electro-rheological fluids (ERF) based resistive actuators for haptic applications is performed. ERFs are liquids that respond mechanically to electric fields by changing their properties, such as viscosity and shear stress electroactively. Using the electrically controlled rheological properties of ERFs, we developed resistive-actuators for haptic devices that can resist human operator forces in a controlled and tunable fashion. In this study, the ERF resistive-actuator analytical model is derived and experimentally verified and accurate closed loop torque control is experimentally achieved using a non-linear proportional integral controller with a feedforward loop.

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