Method and apparatus for providing a cursor control interface with force feedback

摘要

PCT No. PCT/US94/07851 Sec. 371 Date Feb. 16, 1996 Sec. 102(e) Date Feb. 16, 1996 PCT Filed Jul. 12, 1994 PCT Pub. No. WO95/02801 PCT Pub. Date Jan. 26, 1995A method and apparatus for use with a computer for providing commands to a computer through tracked manual gestures and for providing feedback to the user through forces applied to the interface. A user manipulatable object is coupled to a mechanical linkage which is, in turn, supportable on a fixed surface. The mechanical linkage or the user manipulatable object is tracked by sensors for sensing the location and/or orientation of the object. A multi-processor system architecture is disclosed wherein a host computer system is interfaced with a dedicated microprocessor which is responsive to the output of the sensors and provides the host computer with information derived from the sensors. The host computer has an application program which responds to the information provided via the microprocessor and which can provide force-feedback commands back to the microprocessor, which is felt by a user via the user manipulatable object.