A compliant soft-actuator laterotactile display

Knoop, Espen; Rossiter, Jonathan

doi:10.1088/0964-1726/24/4/045034

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…[31][32][33] DEAs are generally characterized by large electrical strains, fast and acoustically silent operation, compact size, low specific weight, shock tolerance, low power consumption, and no overheating. [31][32][33]35] To date, there have been several reports on DEA-based tactile devices, for various needs, including vibratory interfaces, [36,37] vertical displacements of a rigid pin, either mono-directionally [38] or bidirectionally, [39] latero-tactile stimulation of the skin via arrays of pins, [40] as well as variable texturing of surfaces. [41][42][43] However, only two configurations have proved useful so far to obtain non-vibratory wearable tactile devices that can electrically change both the contact area and the indentation depth on a fingertip, and therefore can serve to display a virtual softness, as discussed above.…”

Section: Dielectric Elastomer Actuation For Tactile Displaysmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Soft Touch: Wearable Tactile Display of Softness Made of Electroactive Elastomers

Frediani

Boys

Ghilardi

et al. 2021

Adv Materials Technologies

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Fingertip‐mounted tactile displays of softness are needed for various virtual‐ or augmented‐reality applications such as surgical simulation, tele‐operation, computer‐aided design, 3D model exploration, and tele‐presence. Displaying a virtual softness on a fingertip requires the generation of quasi‐static large displacements at moderate forces (as opposed to high‐frequency small vibrations at high forces), via a deformable surface, to control both the contact area and the indentation depth of the skin. State‐of‐the‐art actuation technologies are unable to combine simple structure, low weight, and low size, as well as energy efficiency and silent operation. Here, the progress on the development of a non‐vibratory display of softness made of electroactive polymers is reported. It consists of a hydrostatically coupled dielectric elastomer actuator, shaped as a bubble interfaced to the fingertip, having a weight of 6 g. Prototypes can generate displacements up to 3.5 mm and forces up to 1 N. By combining this technology with a compact hand tracking sensor, a simple and cost‐effective virtual‐reality system is demonstrated. A psychophysical study engaging 15 volunteers in poke and pinch tactile tasks shows that users can properly distinguish between different stimuli rendered by the display, with an accuracy correlated to the perceptual difficulty of the tactile comparative task.

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Section: Dielectric Elastomer Actuation For Tactile Displaysmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Soft Touch: Wearable Tactile Display of Softness Made of Electroactive Elastomers

Frediani

Boys

Ghilardi

et al. 2021

Adv Materials Technologies

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“…These pins, actuated by a dielectric elastomer membrane, provide compressive and tensile forces upon the fingertip skin. Although this device has scope for miniaturization and provides adequate separation between the high voltage membranes and the users fingertip, stimulation is limited to laterotactile sensations [21].…”

Section: Background and Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

A dielectric elastomer actuator-based tactile display for multiple fingertip interaction with virtual soft bodies

et al. 2017

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This paper presents a novel wearable tactile haptic display for rendering soft body sensations to multiple fingertips with electroactive smart elastomers. The system uses newly developed multi-layered hydrostatically coupled dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs), which have been designed to apply a localised tunable force to a user's fingertip via a soft electrically-deformable interface. The system is comprised of DEAs which are fingertip mounted and are driven individually by a wired connection to a control unit. The force applied to the user's fingertip is based on the user's fingertip position which is monitored by an optical three dimensional finger tracking system. This novel tactile display system is conceived to convey soft body interactions within virtual environments. To demonstrate this, a simulator capable of demonstrating virtual objects of varying tactile haptic properties has been developed. This paper presents preliminary results of ongoing testing, as well as data pertaining to the characterization of the device in terms of force response. The paper also outlines the current limitations of the proposed technology and challenges to be addressed for further developments.

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“…A smaller scale affective stimulator is achieved by replacing the bars of the Tickler with rounded pins. We can also reduce the size of the stimulation elements to achieve a higher resolution or lower profile (figure 3) [8]. To actuate the pin array stimulators we use a dielectric elastomer (DE) electroactive polymer actuator.…”

Section: Affective Touchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Affective Touch and Low Power Artificial Muscles for Rehabilitative and Assistive Wearable Soft Robotics

Rossiter

Knoop

Nakamura

2016

Biosystems &Amp; Biorobotics

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Abstract-The goal in wearable rehabilitation is to restore the lost functionality of the body by rebuilding the sensory-motor link. This may be achieved through a replication, in an artificial or robotic system, of the physiotherapy methods employed by human experts. These methods are typically focused on physical manipulation. We suggest that a lower reliance on manipulation, combined with affective touch stimulation, has the potential to provide effective rehabilitation in lower power and lighter wearable devices. Here we consider affective touch driven by soft actuation and how this may be combined with low power artificial muscle actuators for physical rehabilitation.

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A compliant soft-actuator laterotactile display

Cited by 6 publications

References 39 publications

A Soft Touch: Wearable Tactile Display of Softness Made of Electroactive Elastomers

A Soft Touch: Wearable Tactile Display of Softness Made of Electroactive Elastomers

A dielectric elastomer actuator-based tactile display for multiple fingertip interaction with virtual soft bodies

Affective Touch and Low Power Artificial Muscles for Rehabilitative and Assistive Wearable Soft Robotics

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