SBIR-STTR Award

The proposed innovation is the development of a sensory feedback Hand Exoskeleton Haptic Display (HEHD). The objectives of the Phase I program are to study the utility of different methods of sensory display for controlling robot hands, and to develop a prototype of an HEHD that incorporates multiple modes of feedback including forcefeedback. EXOS has developed several prototype exoskeleton display and sensing devices including: 1) a prototype of a force reflecting exoskeleton master which reflects forces to the index finger, 2) TouchMaster which uses vibration to indicate fingertip contacts in a virtual display, and 3) the Dexterous HandMaster which uses an exoskeleton to measure joint angles. By building on our previous work in comfortable attachment, human perception, and force reflection, we will be able to complete the five primary objectives: Development of a task performance specification, Determining the sensing methods employed in performing the tasks, Development novel feedback methods, and Construction and verification of a prototype HEHD. This will result in the preliminary design specification for a complete HEHD and the delivery of a prototype HEHD which demonstrates the feasibility of the concept.

Keywords:
Exoskeleton Haptic Feedback Force Feedback Teleoperator Masters

Virtual Reality has enormous potential to solve problems by unlocking the power of computation and making applications accessible for which typing is not the natural interface. Previous research in this field concentrated on expensive, high performance systems with cumbersome feedback devices or on low resolution systems without haptic feedback whose capability to perform useful tasks is limited. In order to maximize the performance of a virtual environment or teleoperated robot, the interface should provide a sense of remote presence to the operator. A very good interface would blur the difference between performing a task directly with your hands and in the simulated environment. Preliminary Phase I results demonstrate that the performance of force feedback displays can be enhanced by adding other touch feedback modalities. The goal of the Phase II project is to develop a fully integrated multifunctional Hand Exoskeleton Haptic Display (HEHD) which can be used to control teleoperated hands or touch virtual environments. By combining additional forms of haptic feedback with high quality force feedback and novel multifunctional display control strategies, the HEHD will allow users to experience a higher level of touch feedback fidelity than what is available from pure force feedback. ANTICIPATED ABSTRACT: The system developed in this program will provide user interface capabilities that will revolutionize object manipulation in virtual reality and telrobotic applications. Components of the technology developed in this program can be applied to a broad range of man/computer interfaces. Applications include molecular docking, surgical simulation, and telerobotic servicing in hazardous environments.