Natural human movements in geometrically constrained haptic environments

Abstract

A haptic simulation system with configurable physical constraints for studying skillful human movements is presented. Different curve/surface constraints in 3D can be generated and linked to the system. The system is tested on a variety of tasks performed by human subjects. Theoretical and experimental kinematic profiles are compared for the case of basic rest-to-rest task, namely, line-constrained movement during transport of flexible object. In addition, the demonstration includes also the manipulation of parallel flexible objects, chained objects with elliptical constraint, and a rolling ball manipulation with torque feedbacks applied to the haptic manipulator.