Abstract
Currently, the majority of wearable robotic haptic feedback devices rely on vibrations for relaying sensory information to the user. While this can be very effective, vibration is a limited physical stimulation, appearing rarely in the natural world. In many cases of human-robot and human-human interactions, a more natural, affective and effective tactile interaction is needed to provide well-rounded and varied stimuli. In this work we present the Super-Cutaneous Wearable Electric Empathic Stimulator (SCWEES), a tactile device that gently stretches and squeezes the surface of the skin. Our hypothesis is that this device creates a pleasant, unobtrusive sensation that can be used to mediate social interactions or for delivering subtle alerts. We present the design of the SCWEES, a lightweight 3D printed semi-flexible structure that attaches to the skin at two points and actuates via two shape-memory alloy coil actuators. We evaluate the SCWEES through a range of human interaction experiments. These include evaluation of stimulation strength and pleasantness, compression and expansion, and ability to convey non-disruptive notifications. Quantitative and qualitative results show that the SCWEES generates a pleasant sensation, can convey useful information in human-machine interactions, and its affective stimulation is less disruptive than conventional vibratory tactile stimulation when the user is engaged in a task.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 8632684 |
Pages (from-to) | 1641-1646 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters |
Volume | 4 |
Issue number | 2 |
Early online date | 1 Feb 2019 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Apr 2019 |
Research Groups and Themes
- Tactile Action Perception
Keywords
- Skin
- Force
- haptic interfaces
- haptics and haptic interfaces
- vibrations
- affective tactile stimulation
- robot sensing systems
- social human-robot interaction
- soft robot applications
- actuators
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Dive into the research topics of 'A wearable skin-stretching tactile interface for human-robot and human-human communication'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Student theses
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In Touch: Affective haptics for embodied communication and connection
Haynes, A. (Author), Rossiter, J. (Supervisor) & Kent, C. (Supervisor), 25 Jan 2022Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis › Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
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