A tongue-operated joystick device with adjustable reaction force feedback

- Perception of reaction force and its application to interactive control of a robot -

Abstract

We developed a novel tongue-operated joystick device for severely disabled persons. This device has a function to control the reaction force against the tongue operation. The user can operate skillfully a powered wheelchair or a robotic arm by using force feedback from this device. Through the change in reaction force, the device can notify the user whether the interference between the equipment and the environment occurs. In this paper, we introduce the detail mechanism of this device and examine whether the user can perceive the change in the reaction force.