Title
Design of a Single Degree of Freedom Mechanical Breadboard Haptic Display

Abstract
This thesis describes the design and construction of a rotational, single degree-of-freedom, mechanical breadboard manipulandum. The manipulandum is designed to study how different mechancial configurations affect haptic display performance. The device described in this thesis can be operated with a transmission, or as a direct drive device with reduced output torques. The operator handle, position sensors, and a magnetic particle can be placed on either side of the transmission, allowing the effectiveness of each of the components to be measured. The design and construction of a linear amplifier for both the motor and magnetic particle brake is discussed. Three different virtual walls simulations are run on a 90 MHz PC as benchmark tests for the manipulandum.

Source: Masters Thesis, Northwestern University, 1996