Development and application of wire-actuated haptic interfaces

Haptic devices are being used in ever more applications, ranging from train ing to education, entertainment, design, space experiments, and so on. In t his paper, alternative solutions are presented for the mechanical design of such devices, different from the classical ones based on "rigid" kinematic chains. These solutions adopt actuated wires, and present some features th at can be very useful in particular applications. Due to their mechanical c onstruction, these devices offer some peculiar control problems, which must be properly addressed for their use. These aspects (and other possible app lications) are discussed, and an example of such a device for visually impa ired persons is illustrated. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.