A force display system for virtual environments and its evaluation

This paper describes a virtual-force display system that presents force sensations during the manipulation of objects in a virtual environment. In the tasks that have interactions with the environment, force sensation is the most important information used to recognize the interactions between the objects. The authors discuss a method of virtually generating the constraint forces in the model world, and propose a virtual force display system. In this system, the operator obtains the visual information from a graphic display and feels real-time reaction forces through an operating handle. This operating handle is used for the force exertion and the motion sensing. These visual and kinesthetic senses help the operator to understand the virtual world with high fidelity. Using this system, the performed experiments to confirm its effectiveness. In the experiments, an operator manipulates an object in model space using a 4-DOF master arms as an operating handle. Results of the experimental operation show that the operator can feel the contact state with a realistic sensation.<<ETX>>