Open Source, Modular, Customizable, 3-D Printed Kinesthetic Haptic Devices

Abstract

Open Source Hardware allows users to share, customize, and improve designs, thus enabling technological advancement through communities of practice. We propose open source hardware for educational haptics that permits researchers, educators, and students to share designs arising from their different perspectives, with the potential to expand educational applications. In this paper we present a family of open source kinesthetic haptic devices that build upon the design of a previous educational haptic device, Hapkit 3.0. First, we discuss methods for Hapkit personalization and customization that can be achieved by K-12 students and educators. Next, we describe two kinesthetic haptic device designs that evolved from the original Hapkit 3.0. One uses two standard Hapkits with additional components to form a Pantograph mechanism, and the other uses customized Hapkit elements along with a novel kinematic design to form a serial mechanism. These designs are modular; after building two Hapkits, a user acquires a small number of additional parts to transform them into a two-degree-of-freedom device. The Pantograph mechanism was used in an undergraduate class to teach robotics and haptics to both engineering and nonengineering students. Open source designs for all devices as well as tutorials for customization are available at http://hapkit.stanford.edu.