A Novel Seven Degree of Freedom Haptic Device for Engineering Design

Abstract:

In this paper, the authors intend to demonstrate a new intuitive force-feedback device that is ideally suited for engineering design. Force feedback for the device is tension-based and is characterised by 7 degrees of freedom (3 DOF for translation, 3 DOF for rotation, and 1 DOF for grasp). The SPIDAR-G (SPace Interface Device for Artificial Reality with Grip) allows users to interact with virtual objects naturally by manipulating two hemispherical grips located in the centre of a device frame. Force feedback is achieved by controlling tension in cables that are connected between a grip and motors located at the corners of a frame. Methodologies will be discussed for displaying force and calculating translation, orientation and grasp using the length of 8 connecting cables. The SPIDAR-G is characterised by smooth force feedback, minimised inertia, no backlash, scalability and safety. Such features are attributed to strategic cable arrangement and control that results in stable haptic rendering. Experimental results validate the feasibility of the proposed device and example applications are described.