MasterFinger: Multi-finger Haptic interface for collaborative environments

Abstract

This paper introduces the MasterFinger developemt and application, a multi-finger haptic interface for virtual object manipulation. This haptic device, with a modular interface, is specially designed to perform collaborative tasks. Each module is in charge of managing the haptic interaction with a finger. The mechanical structure of the module is based on a serial-parallel structure linked to the finger thimble by a gimble with its own controller. Cooperative applications based on MasterFinger-2 (MF2) are also described in this study. Results from these applications show that multifinger interface is a significant leap in haptic devices since precise object grasping and collaborative manipulation by using two hands are successfully performed. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.