Design of a force feedback haptic device based on an anthropomorphic arm

Nowadays, Virtual Reality technologies have spread in numerous industrial and research contexts for their ability to provide the perception of virtual spaces and objects by an appropriate combination of sensory channels stimuli. Haptic feedback enhances the user's perceptual immersion during the interaction with virtual prototypes. Commercial haptic force feedback devices are affected by some functional limitations, such as the size of workspace and the type of contact they can provide. The present work aims at developing an innovative device starting from the customization of an anthropomorphic arm. This allows to increase the workspace, to provide a surface contact and to improve the whole ergonomics of the system. The system multi-layer architecture is designed to have a lower level of robot control and a higher level of highly usable graphic user interface, which displays both the virtual prototype and the manipulating virtual probe.