Analysis of Human Hand Impedance Properties during the Steering Operation

Abstract

The present paper investigates human mechanical impedance during the operation of a virtual steering system according to dual-arm configurations. The developed steering system using an impedance-controlled robot can accurately estimate mechanical impedance properties around the rotational axis. Experimental results demon- strate that a human changes his/her impedance properties in both the grip position on a steering wheel and the magnitude of steering torque. Overall stability of a human-steering system is then discussed by means of the measured human impedance parameters.