A new encounter type haptic device with an actively driven pen-tablet LCD panel

In conventional haptic devices, users interact with VR scene by handling a VR tool (such as a pen) using a mechanical device (End-effector type haptic device). On the other hand, in the case where the device can “mimic” a VR object, users can interact with the VR object without having any mechanical constraint from the device (Encounter type haptic device). Based on this concept, we are proposing a new encounter type haptic device with an actively driven pen-tablet LCD panel. The proposed device is an integration of three components: a visual of VR object, motion control (including force feedback) and motion sensing. When a user approaches to the device, the posture of the pen-tablet LCD panel is actively moved toward to the user, simultaneously, visualization of VR object rendered on the panel is updated according to the posture of the panel. The proposed device also can provide force feedback while the user is touching the VR object by a stylus pen. Therefore, the system is able to provide a sense as if the user is interacting with a real object. To control the panel, a compact parallel mechanism was newly developed and implemented. The aim of this research is to propose a new concept in the context of haptic research, and preliminary evaluation tests using a proof of concept prototype are introduced in this paper.