Cable driven haptic interface for co-localized desktop VR

Cable haptic devices can produce a large set of forces while being inconspicuous. This paper outlines the design and the implementation of such a device as a desktop virtual environment. It's combined to a stereoscopic 3D display, visualized through a semi-mirror, below which the manipulation space is located. This configuration co-localizes, i.e superimposes, visual and haptic feedbacks for realistic user interaction. The constraint imposed by the reflective surface requires a specific configuration of the cable device. The process to design such a desktop sized virtual reality interface is explicitly exposed here. An over-constraint cable mechanism is proposed. The assembly of the complete co-localized visio-haptic interface is described, as well as a force computation method easy to implement.