Wearable teleoperation controller with 2-DoF robotic arm and haptic feedback for enhanced interaction in virtual reality

INTRODUCTION: Teleoperation is an essential component in fields such as medicine and manufacturing, enabling human operators to interact with remote robotic systems. A wearable device has been designed and manufactured to enhance sensitivity, wearability, and synchronization, providing users with the ability to experience the sensation of grasping virtual objects. METHODS: The device incorporates a 2-DoF robotic arm, haptic sensors for finger gestures, and a Unity-powered virtual scene system. Its effectiveness was evaluated through user experiments, where participants were asked to rank the weights of three virtual balls and identify the direction of force applied to a virtual ball in separate tests. Additionally, the device's ability to render various shapes was also examined. RESULTS: The experiments showed that 73.3% of participants accurately ranked the balls by mass, and an overall correctness rate of 87.3% was achieved for force direction identification. For shape rendering, the device yielded more accurate results for simple objects like spheres, whereas rendering more complex objects such as cups and cones was challenging. DISCUSSION: The findings indicate that this wearable device has potential applications in haptic feedback and virtual reality contexts. Despite the challenges with complex shape rendering, the device shows promising capability in enhancing the user's immersive experience in virtual environments.