GRASP Special Seminar: Yaroslav Tenzer, Imperial College London, London, UK, “Improving the Realism of Haptic Perceptions in Virtual Arthroscopy Training”

Abstract: Human tactile sensing is essential for perceiving the environment,
which is why many virtual reality simulators offer force feedback
(haptics) alongside realistic visual rendering. Haptic feedback is
especially important in applications where forces carry useful
information. I will elaborate on the following four subtopics; First,
the OrthoForce, which is an arthroscopy training simulator, which
consists of a custom-built haptic device with 4 haptic degrees of
freedom and appears to posses the highest “stiffness to size” ratio
among devices of its kind to date. Second, vibrotactile feedback, where
measured high frequency vibrations were produced on the OrthoForce
handle to improve haptic realism. Vibrotactile feedback has been shown
to improve haptic perceptions in general, although its application to
surgical training simulators has not yet been demonstrated. Last, a
novel programmable brake will be presented, which was developed to
improve the stability and stiffness of haptic devices at minimum cost.