Conclusion
Specifications and applications of force feedback interfaces: virtual reality and gesture and movement assistance

Force-feedback teleoperation systems were invented to perform tasks in environments inaccessible to humans (because they are hostile, distant, or require intervention at the micro- or nanoscale, for example)—tasks that are too complex and/or involve too many unforeseen variables for autonomous robots to carry out with a satisfactory level of reliability and safety. In such circumstances, a so-called “slave” robot is used to operate within the remote environment, and a force-feedback interface (known as the “master” arm) is used to control its movements while physically sensing the forces acting on the robot.

Such interfaces are also very useful in virtual reality, where they make synthetic worlds—from which humans are physically excluded—tangible. Thanks to them, it is possible to control the movements of an “avatar” in a very natural and intuitive way and to feel the forces acting upon it....