Characterising the sound amplitude and force feedback for various materials in tele-haptic operation

The ability to identify the kind of material is easy for the sighted who have the ability to see and feel. This is not so for the visually disabled or for mobile telerobots which are used in rescue missions. Feeling the object is not an accurate means of identification neither is the sound produced from them. This paper describes a tele-haptic application which can be utilised to give the mobile telerobots the ability to identify materials in the performance of its duties in rescue missions. The force feedback which will be generated from this application will be different for all materials and this will be one of the means of identification. Additionally, an audio component will inform the user as to which material has been touched. This will help reinforce the message sent via the force feedback.