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Abstract-Human users can obtain information about the physical properties of an object through direct manipulation with one or two hands. Object manipulation of virtual objects using force feedback haptic interfaces is very challenging due to current technological constrains that often affect the information obtained by the user. Here, we describe the Master Finger 2 (MF2), a force feedback device which allows manipulation of one or more objects with one or two hands. We use experimental data to evaluate the performance of MF2 based on its capability to simulate effectively the weight of virtual objects. The results and implications for system design are discussed.

Abstract.A setup for bimanual virtual object manipulation is described in this paper. Index and thumb fingers are inserted in the corresponding thimbles in order to perform virtual object manipulations. A gimble, with 3-rotational degrees of freedom, connects each thimble to the corresponding serial-parallel mechanical structure with 3 actuated DoF. As a result, each finger has 6 DoF, movements and forces can be reflected in any direction without any torque component. Scenarios for virtual manipulation are based on distributed architecture where each finger device has its own real-time controller. A computer receives the status of each finger and runs a simulation with the virtual object manipulation. The information of the Scenario is updated at a rate of 200 Hz. The information from the haptic controller is processed at 1 kHz; it provides a good realism for object manipulation.

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