A coarse-fine approach to force-reflecting hand controller design

A coarse-fine approach to the design of high fidelity haptic interfaces is proposed based on prior work and new psychophysics studies. The approach involves a fine-motion six-degree-of-freedom parallel Lorentz actuator mounted on a series/parallel coarse-motion stage and coupled through a compliant transmission. The frequency response of a simplified model is used to illustrate the advantages of the approach. The workspaces of three coarse-motion platforms are compared. A novel twin-elbow manipulator with all but one of the drive motors in the base is proposed for its simplicity and large workspace size.