Tactile feedback glove for virtual reality applications

Recently, research on the field of Virtual Reality (VR) has been conducted at the Mexican Electric Research Institute (IIE)(1). Its main purpose is to focus on the development of VR systems applied to the energy sector, mainly through the development of training and visualization systems and VR hardware. The aim of this paper is to show the HE initial experiences in designing and developing of a haptic(2) device. The device is a Tactile Feedback Glove (GRT)(3) which is connected to a workstation parallel port. It uses mechanical vibratory devices that stimulate each finger of the user's hand, representing so sensations felt on the skin when an object is touched. Using the Immersion CyberGlove (R) application programmer's interface (API), the GRT contains a three-dimensional visual representation that reflects the position, orientation and movements of the user's fingers in real time. In order to monitor the spatial position of the user's hand, it also integrates a Polhemus Fastrak tracking system. Communication between the workstation and the glove was implemented by means of a circuit specifically designed for this purpose. Besides providing voltage supply to the glove, the circuit also decodes and temporizes the signals emitted by the workstation and transforms this data into an electrical signal which activates the vibratory devices.