Caterpillar mechanism for a portable haptic interface of endoscopy simulation

The current haptic interfaces for endoscopy simulation can be divided into two categories: the linear carriage systems and friction roller systems. Both types have natural drawbacks for a complete haptic interface of endoscopy simulation. This paper proposes a new mechanism which is not included in any of the current categories. The haptic interface consists of translational and rotational mechanisms. This paper focuses on the translational mechanism. Design constraints and optimization process of the mechanism are discussed including results of simulation and experiment.