Development of an end effector capable of intuitive grasp operation for SPIDAR-W

Abstract

This paper proposes a new grasp operation end effector for the wearable 6 DoF haptic device SPIDAR-W. With the new end effector, users can intuitively perform grasp operations in a virtual environment. Traditional end effectors with a button type interface, are only able to be held by hand and a button must be pushed to lift a virtual object. With the new end effector, the hand can be opened and closed naturally as well as lifting a virtual object, grasping it with significant force. The experiment was made with a pressure sensor monitoring the gripping force and a Velcro belt fixing the end effector to the hand. Performance measurements were made using the new end effector. As a result, users were able to perform grasp operations to some extent arbitrarily. However, there were some unintended operational errors as well as points of improvement that were noted.