The Proactive Desk: a new force display system for a digital desk using a 2-DOF linear induction motor

The Proactive Desk is a new digital desk with haptic feedback. The Proactive Desk allows a user to handle both virtual and real objects on a digital desk with a realistic feeling. We proposed it for a co-experience web that would enable people to share the feelings and experiences of other users via the Internet. In the Proactive Desk, two linear induction motors are equipped to generate an omnidirectional translational force on a user's hand or a physical object on the desk without any mechanical link nor wire, thereby preserving the advantages of a digital desk. In this paper we report applications of the Proactive Desk and the performance of the first trial model.