Haptic technology

About: Haptic technology is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 18818 publications have been published within this topic receiving 306713 citations. The topic is also known as: haptics & haptic media.

Touch & talk: contextualizing remote touch for affective interaction

Abstract: Touch is a unique channel in affect conveyance. A significant aspect of this uniqueness is that the relation of touch to affect is immediate, without the need for symbolic encoding and decoding. However, most pioneering research work in developing remote touch technologies, result in the use of touch as a symbolic channel either by design or user decision. We present a review of relevant psychological and sociological literature of touch and propose a model of immediacy of the touch channel for conveyance of affect. We posit that the strategic provision of contextualizing channels will liberate touch to assume its role in affect conveyance. Armed with this analysis, we propose two design guidelines: first, the touch channel needs to be coupled with other communication channels to clarify its meaning; second, encourage the use touch as an immediate channel by not assigning any symbolic meaning to touch interactions. We proceed to describe our haptic interface design based on these guidelines. Our in-lab experiment shows that remote touch reinforces the meaning of a symbolic channel reducing sadness significantly and showing a trend to reduce general negative mood and to reinforce joviality.

SenSkin: adapting skin as a soft interface

Abstract: We present a sensing technology and input method that uses skin deformation estimated through a thin band-type device attached to the human body, the appearance of which seems socially acceptable in daily life. An input interface usually requires feedback. SenSkin provides tactile feedback that enables users to know which part of the skin they are touching in order to issue commands. The user, having found an acceptable area before beginning the input operation, can continue to input commands without receiving explicit feedback. We developed an experimental device with two armbands to sense three-dimensional pressure applied to the skin. Sensing tangential force on uncovered skin without haptic obstacles has not previously been achieved. SenSkin is also novel in that quantitative tangential force applied to the skin, such as that of the forearm or fingers, is measured. An infrared (IR) reflective sensor is used since its durability and inexpensiveness make it suitable for everyday human sensing purposes. The multiple sensors located on the two armbands allow the tangential and normal force applied to the skin dimension to be sensed. The input command is learned and recognized using a Support Vector Machine (SVM). Finally, we show an application in which this input method is implemented.

Towards 5G-enabled Tactile Internet: Radio resource allocation for haptic communications

Abstract: The Tactile Internet will be able to transport touch and actuation in real-time. The primary application running over the Tactile Internet will be haptic communications. Design efforts for both the Tactile Internet and the haptic communications are at a nascent stage. It is expected that the next generation (5G) wireless networks will play a key role in realizing the Tactile Internet. On the other hand, Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A) networks would be an integral component of the 5G ecosystem. Therefore, exploring the potential of LTE-A networks for haptic communications would be an important step towards realizing the Tactile Internet. To this end, the main objective of this paper is to investigate radio resource allocation for haptic communications in LTE-A networks. The radio resource requirements of haptic communications have been translated into a unique resource allocation problem which becomes particularly challenging due to the specific constraints of multiple access schemes in LTE-A networks. Novel heuristic algorithm has been developed to solve the resource allocation problem. Performance evaluation has been conducted using simulation studies for a recently proposed 5G air-interface design.

Multi-Modal Haptic Feedback for Grip Force Reduction in Robotic Surgery.

Abstract: Minimally invasive robotic surgery allows for many advantages over traditional surgical procedures, but the loss of force feedback combined with a potential for strong grasping forces can result in excessive tissue damage. Single modality haptic feedback systems have been designed and tested in an attempt to diminish grasping forces, but the results still fall short of natural performance. A multi-modal pneumatic feedback system was designed to allow for tactile, kinesthetic, and vibrotactile feedback, with the aims of more closely imitating natural touch and further improving the effectiveness of HFS in robotic surgical applications and tasks such as tissue grasping and manipulation. Testing of the multi-modal system yielded very promising results with an average force reduction of nearly 50% between the no feedback and hybrid (tactile and kinesthetic) trials (p < 1.0E-16). The multi-modal system demonstrated an increased reduction over single modality feedback solutions and indicated that the system can help users achieve average grip forces closer to those normally possible with the human hand.

Electrosurgical tool having tactile feedback

Abstract: A surgical tool system including a laparoscopic surgical tool for heating, ablating, sealing, and/or dissecting tissue, a control system for monitoring impedance of the tissue during treatment thereof, and a tactile feedback system integrated onto a handle of the tool that generates relevant feedback from the control system in at least the form of haptic effects to the user. The tactile feedback alerts the tool user of changes in tissue properties, i.e., when the impedance of the tissue indicates that the treatment procedure is complete. In addition, the tactile feedback provided may supply information relating to the operating status of the control system to the user.