Our primary goal for this project was to give the user a sense of handling an object on the controller side of the robot when in reality only the follower was making contact with something.
Force sensor
On the follower gripper we have a force sensor with a small piece of foam to concentrate all force on the sensor. This sensor relays force values to the controller gripper.
FlexiForce sensor
Backdrivable motor
At the pivot point of the controller finger we have a DC motor attached. When there is no force being applied at the follower gripper the finger can be closed without any resistance. When a force is registered a corresponding torque is applied to the finger using basic PID control, limiting the finger's movement. This feedback mimics the sense of holding an object on the controller end.