Using simple force feedback mechanisms as haptic visualization tools

Force feedback (FF) is a technology which is very interesting in the context of human machine interfaces. Thus it is usable as a haptic interface, which makes it possible to model and simulate objects and textures. One problem with haptic FF devices today is that most of them are of professional or research standard, which makes them expensive. The technology of FF has also been introduced in another context, that of home entertainment and computer games. Here there are a number of high-volume, (relatively) low fidelity products, available at a much lower price (around 1% of a professional system). We have investigated if one of these products, the Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback Pro, is possible to be used in the context of visualization of objects. The chosen objects were labyrinths with stiff walls. The result is that it is possible, with some important limitations.