Improving User Comfort in Haptic Virtual Environments through Gravity Compensation

Authors:
Renaud Ott;Mario Gutierrez;Daniel Thalmann;Frederic Vexo
Affiliations:
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne;Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne;Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne;Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Venue:
WHC '05 Proceedings of the First Joint Eurohaptics Conference and Symposium on Haptic Interfaces for Virtual Environment and Teleoperator Systems
Year:
2005

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Abstract

Our experience with a Haptic Workstation驴 has shown that this device is uncomfortable to use during long sessions. The main reason is the uncomfortable posture of the arms, which must be kept outstretched horizontally while supporting the weight of an exoskeleton. We describeZero-G, a real-time weight compensation system aimed at improving user comfort by compensating for the weight of both the exoskeleton and arms (zero gravity illusion). We present experimental results complemented with electro myography measures (EMG) as an indicator of muscularactivity/fatigue. Our tests show how Zero-G exerts a positiveinfluence on the reduction of muscular fatigue when using a Haptic Workstation驴.