Kjell Andersson
Professor in Machine design
About Kjell Anderssons research:
The research field of haptics and haptic units is all about creating a sensation of contact with different objects when working in a virtual reality. The research has focused on surgical applications that include elements of drilling or milling bones or teeth. In these applications, the surgeon works with a virtual model of a vertebra, for example, which is shown on a computer screen together with the tool used. The role of the haptic unit is to convey the feeling of contact by creating forces and moments that correspond to actual contact.
Kjell Andersson and his group have focused on research questions linked to the problem of how a haptic unit should be designed in order to recreate forces and moments in six degrees of freedom, which is required in the application. It must have a sufficiently rigid structure to work when interacting with hard materials such as bones and teeth, and must convey a realistic feeling both during and without contact with the object.
The aim of the research is to develop a simulator to complement existing training and further training for surgeons in a virtual environment before they carry out their first surgical intervention on an actual patient. The simulator will also be used to support planning and practice before more complex operations.