The User’s Role in Haptic System Design

Abstract

AbstractConsequently, a good mechanical design has to consider the user in his or her mechanical properties. The first part of this chapter deals with the discussion of the user as a mechanical load on the haptic device. The corresponding model is split into two independent elements depending on the frequency range of the oscillation. Methods and measurement setups for the derivation of mechanical impedance of the user are reviewed and a thorough analysis of impedance for different grip configurations is presented. In the second part of the chapter, the user is considered as the ultimate measure of quality for a haptic system. The relation of psychophysical parameters like the absolute threshold or the JND to engineering quality measures like resolution, errors and reproducibility is described and application depending quality measures like haptic transparency are introduced.