Rendering Forces With a Modular Cable System, Motors, and Brakes

TL;DR

This paper introduces a reconfigurable haptic interface using modular cable systems with integrated motors and brakes, capable of rendering a wide range of forces and adaptable to various configurations.

Contribution

It presents a novel hardware design and force-rendering approach for a modular, reconfigurable haptic device with hybrid actuation modules.

Findings

Capable of rendering active forces up to 6 N

Can apply collision forces up to 186 N

Flexible configurations and degrees of freedom

Abstract

We describe the hardware design, force-rendering approach, and evaluation of a new reconfigurable haptic interface consisting of a network of hybrid motor-brake actuation modules that apply forces via cables. Each module contains both a motor and a brake, enabling it to smoothly render active forces up to 6 N using its motor and collision forces up to 186 N using its passive one-way brake. The modular design, meanwhile, allows the system to deliver rich haptic feedback in a flexible number of DoF and widely ranging configurations.