Force-Feedback Through Touch-based Interactions With A Nanocopter

Yang Chen, Hamed Alimohammadzadeh, Shahram Ghandeharizadeh, Heather Culbertson

Abstract: The choice of haptic rendering tools plays a pivotal role in the perception of the simulated kinesthetic feedback. This paper introduces a novel approach using Crazyflie-based quadcopters as haptic rendering devices to simulate virtual stiffness. By designing a specialized cage and implementing control using Crazyswarm and both centralized and decentralized localization techniques, we implemented the smallest drone-based direct-touch encounter-type haptic feedback device. We evaluated three different proportional control levels, with each level simulating a different stiffness based on a distance-to-thrust response. We conducted a user study, which revealed that even with only 21 grams of the force output range, participants could distinguish between the proportional levels, perceiving higher proportional levels as increased stiffness. We also identified distinct vibration characteristics between cages made of different 3D printing materials. Our findings suggest that quadcopters can be effectively used as haptic tools, offering a controllable kinesthetic feedback system.