Haptic Simulation of Assembly Operation in Virtual Environment

Abstract

Abstract This paper presents a haptic simulator of 2-dimensional peg-in-hole assembly operations in a virtual environment, considering the dynamics and the surface friction characteristics of the peg and the hole. An operator can operate the virtual peg by inserting his fingers into rings at the tips of link mechanisms which display the operating feeling to the operator. By using this simulator, we can measure the force between fingers and the peg, the contact states between the peg and hole, and the position of the peg during the operation. To examine the validity of the simulator, comparison between the peg-in-hole task using the simulator and that in the real world has been performed. It is hoped that this simulator will help in gathering data of human skill in assembly tasks and analyzing the human skill.