A bio-inspired haptic interface for tele-robotics applications

Abstract

This paper presents the design concept for a bio-inspired exoskeleton intended for applications in tele-robotics and virtual reality. We based the development on an attentive analysis of the human arm anatomy with the intent to synthesize a system that will be able to interface with the human limb in a natural way. Our main goal is to develop a multi contact-point haptic interface that does not restrict the arm mobility and therefore increases the operational workspace. We propose a simplified kinematic model of the human arm using a notation coming from the robotics field. To figure out the best kinematic architecture we employed real movement data, measured from a human subject, and integrated them with the kinematic model of the exoskeleton. This allows us to test the system before its construction and to formalize specific requirements. We also implemented and tested a first passive version of the shoulder joint.