The Role of Visual and Haptic Feedback During Dynamically Coupled Bimanual Manipulation

The mechanisms that underlie the control of bimanual actions in which the two hands act separately to manipulate different objects (uncoupled independent control) has been well studied. In contrast, much less is known about how the central nervous system controls bimanual actions that require the two hands act cooperatively to manipulate a single object (dynamically coupled control). Furthermore, there is scant research into the manual lateralization and role assignment in the processing of visual and haptic feedback during dynamically coupled bimanual tasks. In this experiment, we examined the role of the dominant and non-dominant hands during a dynamically coupled bimanual task in which visual and haptic feedback regarding object penetration were manipulated. Twelve subjects performed a bimanual grasp and reach task towards different target locations in the workspace by using two identical wrist robotic devices. Results showed haptic feedback is necessary for task completion, and that hand specialization plays a fundamental role in spatial and temporal coordination between the two limbs.