Design and control of a haptic device with hybrid actuation

具有动觉反馈的触觉设备现在是教育、制造和医学等技术专业中现代模拟训练的基本构建块。动觉反馈提高了模拟的真实性，并已被证明可以增加在虚拟现实（VR）中学习的技能的保留。触觉装置通常使用电动机来向用户产生力。遗憾的是，它们在性能和稳定性之间存在固有的权衡，这大大限制了它们的性能。电动机的替代品是制动器或阻尼器，但被动致动器仅限于耗散能量。结合制动器和电机的混合致动配置是一种很有前途的解决方案，以整合每种致动器类型的优点，并大大提高当代触觉设备和触觉模拟的性能。 Haply Robotics是一家总部位于蒙特利尔的公司，专门从事触觉设备，认识到新形式的驱动和控制算法的潜力，以推动触觉模拟的边界。Haply和Carleton团队之间的合作伙伴关系的目标有三个方面：（1）确定低成本混合致动器的最佳设计，（2）在他们的触觉设备中实现致动器，以及（3）根据（2）中学习的结果确定最佳运动结构。从实践和理论的角度来看，这一项目的范围大有希望。 触觉市场在全球呈指数级增长。开发具有改进性能的低成本触觉设备可能是使该技术民主化并促进其在新兴领域使用的关键点。这种合作所带来的进步可以使Haply进一步走在研发的最前沿，以应对该国对触觉技术呈指数增长的兴趣。新形式的触觉VR培训将使加拿大人在多个关键经济部门受益，特别是在教育，制造业和医学领域。

Haptic devices with kinaesthetic feedback are now a fundamental building block in modern simulation training within skilled professions such as education, manufacturing, and medicine. Kinaesthetic feedback improves simulation realism and has been shown to increase the retention of skills learned in virtual reality (VR). Haptic devices often use electric motors to generate forces to the user. Regrettably, they suffer from an inherent tradeoff between performance and stability, which significantly limits their performance. An alternative to motors are brakes or dampers, but passive actuators are limited to dissipating energy. A configuration with hybrid actuation combining brakes and motors is a promising solution to integrate the advantages of each actuator type and substantially improve the performance of contemporary haptic devices and haptic simulation. Haply Robotics, a Montréal-based company specializing in haptic devices, recognizes the potential of new forms of actuation and control algorithms to push the boundaries of haptic simulation. The goal of this collaborative partnership between Haply and Carleton teams is threefold: (1) determine the optimal design of a low-cost hybrid actuator, (2) implement the actuator in one of their haptic devices, and (3) determine the optimal kinematic structure based on the outcomes learned in (2). The scope of this project holds great promise from practical and theoretical standpoints. The haptic market is exponentially growing worldwide. The development of a low-cost haptic device with improved performance can be a pivotal point to democratize the technology and boost its use across emerging domains. Advances facilitated by this collaboration can put Haply further at the forefront of R&D to respond to the exponentially growing interest in haptics technology in the country. New forms of training in haptic-enabled VR will benefit Canadians in multiple key economic sectors, particularly in education, manufacturing, and medicine.