Abstract
Force-display devices can be classified into two types according to the difference in the method of force generation: active type and passive type. Active type devices use actuators such as motors and pneumatic artificial muscles, and are capable of active force presentation. However, pneumatic artificial muscles have limitations of pressure propagation speed due to air compressibility, and so have difficulty to present force sensation at high speed. Passive devices cannot present the force sensation acting during stoppage. The purpose of this study is to develop a hybrid force-display glove with a balloon actuator as an active element and an electro adhesive gel (EAG) brake as a passive element, which compensates for the shortcomings of both mechanisms, and to construct a force presentation system integrating the above two to realize effective rehabilitation for hemiplegia of the fingers, a typical sequela of rheumatism and stroke. This paper describes the overall concept of a hybrid force-display system for a glove with excellent real-time performance, and the determination of grasping VR objects using the measured voltage of bending sensors attached to each finger and the bending angle of the finger model.
