Feeling the Softness of Virtual Objects with a Continuous and Passive Haptic Device

A new softness display system has been developed which is based on the principle of deformable length of elastic element control (DLEEC). In this system, operator can feel the softness of the virtual objects with the softness display device. Compared with other haptic device, the device is passive and exert the react force only when the operator "actively touch" the virtual objects. The stability of the softness display system is analyzed, and some experimental results are presented to show the validity of the proposed approach