Uncoupled Stability of Kinesthetic Haptic Systems Simulating Mass-Damper-Spring Environments with Complementary Filter

Uncoupled stability, the condition by which the user is not in contact with the haptic device, is arguably a stringent stability condition for haptic simulation systems. Uncoupled stability of haptic systems simulating linear mass-spring or viscoelastic virtual environments have been analyzed. In this paper, we analytically and experimentally evaluate uncoupled stability for simulating mass-damper-spring virtual environments when only position or when position and velocity are available. In addition, the effect of using a linear combination of position and velocity in deriving acceleration estimate is also studied. Experimental results in a one degree-of-freedom device showed that the highest stiffness values are obtained when the acceleration is equally derived from position and velocity. This work will shed light on the interaction of the three dynamic components for virtual environment rendering.