Statement of the Technical Field
The inventive arrangements relate to haptic interfaces, and more particularly to compact haptic interfaces which are designed to integrate with a primary controller.
Description of the Related Art
Remote controlled unmanned vehicles are increasingly being used in a wide variety of robot applications such as explosive ordinance disposal, search and rescue operations, undersea salvage, and oil rig inspection/maintenance. As interest grows in robotic systems, providers are seeking to add haptic (force feedback) capability to their controllers. In many systems, a basic laptop-style controller already exists but these systems do not offer haptic feedback. Accordingly, there is a need for a haptic controller that can be used in connection with existing laptop-style controllers.
In many scenarios in which robots are used, conventional haptic interfaces are not well suited. These conventional haptic interfaces often have a form factor which lacks compactness and therefore do not work well. For example, conventional haptic interfaces are often designed for desktop consumer usage as opposed to mobile or portable robot operations. As such, these existing systems tend to be too large or have a form factors that makes them impractical for many applications.