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1769603 
Journal Article 
Haptic Glove With MR Brakes for Virtual Reality 
Blake, J; Gurocak, HB 
2009 
Yes 
I E E E - A S M E Transactions on Mechatronics
ISSN: 1083-4435 
14 
5 
606-615 
WOS:000269518700009 
Haptic gloves open up the world of force feedback by
allowing the user to pick up and feel virtual objects in a natural way. In most of the existing
gloves, a remote box houses a large number of actuators and sensors. Power to the glove is
transmitted via cables. If the haptic gloves were smaller, lighter, and easier to use and
control, they could become more common as human-machine interfaces. Recent developments show that
actuators based on active fluids, such as the magnetorheological (MR) fluids, can be viable
alternatives in haptics. But these devices are desk- or floor-mounted and use relatively largeMR
brakes. In this research, we developed a compact MR brake that is about 25 mm in diameter, weighs
84 g, and can apply up to 899 N.mm torque. The compact size was achieved by stacking steel and
aluminum rings to create a serpentine flux path through the fluid. Six brakes were used to build
a force feedback glove called MR glove. The glove weighs 640 g and does not require any remote
actuators. Results of usability experiments showed that the MR glove improved task completion
times in grasping virtual objects and could convey stiffness information to the user. 
Force feedback; haptics; magnetorheological fluid (MRF); virtual reality (VR)