A low voltage-powered soft electromechanical stimulation patch for haptics feedback in human-machine interfaces.

2021 
Abstract One grand challenge in haptic human-machine interface devices is to electromechanically stimulate sensations on the human skin wirelessly by thin and soft patches under a low driving voltage. Here, we propose a soft haptics-feedback system using highly charged, polymeric electret films with an annulus-shape bump structure to induce mechanical sensations on the fingertip of volunteers under an applied voltage range of 5-20 Volts. As an application demonstration, a 3×3 actuators array is used for transmitting patterned haptic information, such as letters of ‘T’, ‘H’, ‘U’ letters and numbers of ‘0’,’1’,’2’. Moreover, together with flexible lithium batteries and a flexible circuit board, an untethered stimulation patch is constructed for operations of 1 hour. The analytical model, design principle, and performance characterizations can be applicable for the integration of other wearable electronics toward practical applications in the fields of AR (augmented reality), VR (virtual reality) and robotics.
    • Correction
    • Source
    • Cite
    • Save
    • Machine Reading By IdeaReader
    40
    References
    0
    Citations
    NaN
    KQI
    []