The effect of force feedback on remote palpation

Combining teletaction systems with telemanipulation systems promises to enhance task performance when interacting with remote environments. However, the force scaling inherent in the telemanipulation system affects the ability of the user to control the exploration force. The quality of the tactile signal is therefore impacted, affecting performance in tasks that benefit from spatially distributed force information. We compare performance localizing an embedded lump in a compliant environment using a telemanipulated teletaction system versus a directly manipulated teletaction system. Lump localization accuracy was found to be the same; however, time required to localize the lump was up to 150% longer for the telemanipulation trials. Based upon our results, we conclude that the ability to maintain an appropriate force in the remote environment is necessary to take full advantage of the spatially distributed force information from the tactile sensor.