Abstract
This paper describes the design of a novel force perception method for non-grounding force displays and the development of a handheld force display based on the method. The force perception method is attributed to the nonlinear characteristics of human tactual perception; humans feel rapid acceleration more strongly than slow acceleration. The method uses periodic prismatic motion to create asymmetric acceleration leading to a virtual force vector. A prototype of the handheld force display that generates one-directional force using a relatively simple mechanism was built, and its performance was tested in terms of both physical and perceptual characteristics. We verify the feasibility of the proposed method through experiments that determine the display's motor's rotational frequency that maximizes the perception of the virtual force vector. In addition, we examine the effect of the frequency of acceleration change and the amplitude of force on implicit, functional judgment of the perception of the virtual force vector.
