Development of a High-resolution Surface Type Haptic interface for Rigidity Distribution Rendering

This paper describes development of a high-resolution surface type haptic interface. This interface consists of 64(8 8) linear actuators. Each linear actuator is set with no space between them and consists of a lead screw, a DC servomotor, and a force sensor. It has ability to present arbitrary force at arbitrary position by changing its length interactively. Since the size of its base is 4mm (width) X 4mm (depth), the interface is practicable to present high resolution rigidity distribution. Some rigidity distribution rendering algorithms were proposed and evaluated through experiments.