Meet ALFRED: a haptic robot butler that lets operators naturally touch, grasp, and manipulate objects in VR. As the robot touches and moves items, the operators get realistic haptic feedback. Here is how it works:
Users can then naturally touch, grasp and manipulate a virtual object while feeling congruent realistic haptic feedback from the tangible proxy. The tangible proxies can detach from the robot, allowing natural and unconstrained manipulation in the 3D virtual environment (VE). When a manipulated virtual object comes into contact with the virtual environment, the robotic manipulator acts as an encounter-type haptic display (ETHD), positioning itself so as to render reaction forces of the environment onto the manipulated physical object.
The above video from Víctor Rodrigo Mercado shows this robot in action.
[HT]
