Keywords: Haptics , Compliance, force detectrion resolution

ABSTRACT Psychophysical experiments were performed to investigate the haptic perception of objects with varying compliance over their surfaces. Perception of compliance contrast is important in interaction with soft environments, as in teleoperative surgery. [....] Compliance and force discrimination thresholds were determined in order to compare with low frequency contrast thresholds. Compliance and force contrast detection thresholds were found to be 2% and 1% above 1/2 cyc/cm and 20 Hz, respectively. Both were significantly smaller than respective compliance and force discrimination thresholds and low frequency contrast detection thresholds.

This paper will focus on the nature of haptic feedback necessary to adequately represent the compliance of the remote environment to the master or, equivalently, to represent the compliance in a virtual environment.