Haptic Devices Actuation: Functionnal Overview and Typology

This article presents a general analysis on the actuators of haptic devices. This analysis aims first at clarifying the status of this component among the various aspects of haptic devices functions and performances. The functional structure of the actuation system is introduced. This basic structure is then used to establish a general typology that attempts to encompass most of the current and historical haptic technologies. Within the proposed classification, the strength and limitations of the different actuation technologies are discussed.