Design of A Force-Reflecting Device and Embedded Controller

It is well understood that force reflecting coupled with visual display can be an important two-way communication channel in human-computer interaction. In this work, important components for a high-fidelity system bandwidth are force reflecting device and that all the computations including contact determination and response computation have to be performed in less than a millisecond. This paper describes a force-reflecting device and an embedded controller. The realized force-reflecting device is based on a novel serial type mechanical structure, and features compactness, high sustained output force capability, low friction, zero backlash, and enough workspace. The embedded controller reduces software computational load via main processor and simplifies hardware strictures by the time-division control. The device is integrated with existing dynamic simulation algorithms running separate workstation, so that objects can be manipulated in real time and the corresponding forces felt back by the operator.