Wearable Tactile Display

An IPMC needs to be kept moistened because its actuators are operated by ionic migration. Even in slightly moist air, however, the device can provide stimuU sufficiently for several minutes. 

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Koo IM, Jung K, Koo JC, Nam JD, Lee YK, Choi HR (2008) Development of soft-actuator-based wearable tactile display. IEEE Trans Robotics 24 549... 

In this chapter, we introduce the wearable tactile display and the tactile synthesis method using IPMC actuators. Our display can represent texture feeling and pressure sensation by controlling three physical characteristics roughness, softness and Metion. 

Figure 8.3 Overviews of the wearable tactile display (a) close-up of the IPMC stimulator (b) mounted on a finger.

Figure 8.5 Wearable tactile display system in response to virtual contact motion.

As evaluation indexes of the roughness sensation, nine kinds of close-set lead balls that had different diameters from 0.5 to 10 mm were used. The wearable tactile display system shown in Figure 8.5 was used. The amplitudes of the stimulations were fixed at 6.0 V (= the maximum input) and each offset was 0.5 V. The offset was needed to avoid an insensitive zone caused by shortage of amplitudes of the actuators. The subjects put the device on the right middle finger. They touched the index with their left hand at the same time. There was no restriction on time to explore. The subjects were six males in their twenties. 

Figure 23.13 Illustration of the proposed wearable tactile display and flexible characteristics.

Figure 23.15 Assembled 3-D model of the wearable tactile display (top) 3-D view of assembled display (bottom) cross-sectional view.

JordiC, Michel S, FinkE (2010) Fish-like propulsion of an airship with planar membrane dielectric elastomer actuators. Bioinspir Biomim 5(2) 026007 Knoop L, Rossiter J (2014) Towards shear tactile displays with DEAs. Proc SPIE 9056 905610 Kofod G, Paajanen M, Bauer S (2006) Self-organized minimum-energy stmctures for dielectric elastomer actuators. Appl Phys A 85(2) 141-143 Koo I, Jung K, Koo J et al (2008) Development of soft-actuator-based wearable tactile display. IEEE Trans Robot 24(3) 549-558... 

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An output device is any tool that delivers information from a machine to a human. Again, the most familiar output devices are those associated with personal computers monitors, flat-panel displays, and audio speakers. Other output devices include wearable head-mounted displays or goggles that provide visual feedback directly in front of the user s field of vision and full-body suits that provide tactile feedback to the user in the form of pressure. 

Wearability To generate the virtual reality of tactile feel, we should move our hand actively and freely, and receive appropriate stimuli in response to the hand movements. An IPMC based wearable display was successfully developed, which was made so small in size and weight that there was no interference with hand movements [8],... 

Konyo, M., Akazawa, K., Tadokoro, S. and Takamori, T. (2003) Wearable Haptic Interface Using ICPF Actuators for Tactile Feel Display in Response to Hand Movements, J. Robotics and Mechatronics, 15 (2), 219-26. 

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