Abstract
A virtual model-manipulation system-aimed at off-line teleoperation teaching-has been developed on the World Wide Web. To give a feeling to the virtual model manipulation, the system is equipped with a force-display function as well as a virtual display. To realize this feeling, a high-speed contact-motion simulator enables the computation of constrained motion in the virtual environment. In addition, a firm force reaction is produced by using a sixdegrees-of-freedom position-controlled manipulator with force feedback as a master arm. This manipulation system is intended to be used by anybody, anywhere, at any time freely. It uses standard modules (such as Web browsers for GUIs, VRML for graphics, and Java applet) and a position-controlled manipulator for model handling. Consequently, the developed system can be utilized anytime from anywhere equipped with the master arm. A prototype system was developed and virtual model manipulation was carried out successfully in two environment: a simple block world and a complex room environment. The manipulation system was experimentally tested, and it was shown that the new system can effectively manipulate a virual model.
