Estimating ergonomic comfort during the process of mechanism design by interaction with a Haptic Feedback-System evaluation of simulated and kinesthetically displayed mechanisms using the haptic feedback system RePlaLink

Abstract

The use of a Haptic Feedback-System (HFS) in the mechanism design process is very promising. The RePlaLink HFS developed at the IGM - RWTH Aachen University is presented exemplarily. It is a hybrid solution combining a parallel kinematic structure with a small serial actuator in the tool-center. Therefore it is quiet powerful and still agile. Several scenarios of implementation of hand-activated motion are shown. Moreover the way of estimating the operator’s ergonomic comfort and particularly, the advantage of human posture scoring techniques are discussed in detail. Finally, it is illustrated how this HFS can be used as a process driven tool for the superior design process. The simulation capabilities and the haptic real-time display in combination with special knowledge databases concerning the mechanism design and testing are a powerful enhancement for novel as well as senior design engineers. The common work flow can basically be changed, newly arranged and improved.