Abstract: A distributed pressure sensor is constructed such that a wire-like electrode member is arranged in the vertical (row) direction so that electrode surfaces alternately appear on the surface and the rear surface of a sheet-shaped pressure sensitive electrically conductive material, and moreover, a wire-like electrode is arranged also in the lateral (line) direction at right angles to the vertical (row) direction, and intersections defined by the electrode members arranged in the vertical direction and the lateral direction are located such that the pressure sensitive electrically conductive material is sandwiched from both the surfaces. The distributed pressure sensor has high flexibility and exhibits improved durability to repeated bending.

Abstract: The computer-aided design system of the present invention is characterized in that a grasping force sensor 4 is mounted on that operating bar 3 at the front end of a manipulator 1 which is grasped directly and operated by an operator, and that the mechanical response characteristics of the system are varied on the basis of an output from the grasping force sensor 4. That is, the rigidity on the part of the manipulator is increased in response to a high grasping force during operation, since the rigidity of the hand is also high; and the rigidity on the part of the manipulator is decreased for a low grasping force during operation, since the rigidity of the hand is also low. In scenes in which a space on a computer screen defining no shapes is crossed by a cusor on the screen, a weak grip will lower the rigidity on the part of the manipulator, thus achieving the feeling of a smooth operation.