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Abstract

A pen-based direct-drive manipulator enables precision manipulation and force display of a control point within three degrees of freedom. The control point exhibits substantially no backlash, very low friction and very low inertia making it useful as a force display. The manipulator also has a very high force generation bandwidth allowing high frequency force components to be displayed. A parallel actuator structure controls motion over two degrees of freedom in a horizontal plane. The parallel structure is a redundant structure including three chains in parallel coupled at the control point. The redundant structure provides a uniform force capability throughout the manipulator workspace. A pair of rotational actuators rotate the parallel structure about an axis to approximate a linear motion along a third axis. The rotational actuators provide a third degree of freedom for the control point. Motion about the third axis is substantially decouple from motion about the horizontal plane.

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First Claim