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Haptics Symposium 2018 – Companion Proceedings

Contents - Abstracts - Authors

Front Matter

Title Page


Welcome


Organizing Committee


Program Committee


WIP Editorial Board


Reviewers


Sponsor Organizations


Recommended Lunch Locations near the Hotel


Venue Maps


Demonstrations and Exhibits Map



Cross-cutting Challenges

Cross-cutting Challenges - Theme 1
Sun, Mar 25, 09:00 - 12:30, California West and East (Chair: Gregory J. Gerling; Manuel Cruz-Hernandez)

Expanding Sensory Interactions: The Path to Intelligent Clothes and Objects Able to Change the Way We Communicate with the World
Domenico Prattichizzo, Claudio Pacchierotti, and Leonardo Meli
University of Siena, Italy; IIT, Italy; CNRS, France
Research on haptic interfaces has historically developed around grounded kinesthetic devices. The pursuit of more wearable technologies led next to the development of exoskeletons. Although exoskeletons can be considered wearable, they are often quite heavy and cumbersome. More recent research has sought to extend the definition of a “wearable device” beyond something merely suitable to be worn. A wearable haptic device should also be small, easy to carry, comfortable, and it should not impair the motion of the wearer. But wearable haptics is not only applying haptic stimuli in a seamless way. Recent advancements in textile engineering are showing remarkable results in innovative smart clothes, which embed lightweight and thin sensors, either haptic or inertial. For example, Levi’s and Google developed a haptic jacket which enables users to control their smartphones by touching an instrumented sleeve.

Publisher's Version Info

Sun, Mar 25, 09:00 - 11:00, California West
Sun, Mar 25, 11:15 - 12:30, California East

Cross-cutting Challenges - Theme 2
Sun, Mar 25, 14:00 - 17:30, California West and East (Chair: Gregory J. Gerling; Manuel Cruz-Hernandez)

Haptic Dimensions of Surfaces
Jeremy Fishel and J. Edward Colgate
SynTouch, USA; Northwestern University, USA
While much has been learned on the perceptually relevant dimensions of hearing and vision, an equally comprehensive understanding of touch is still in its infancy. This challenge seeks to bring together perspectives of experts and stakeholders from a wide range of backgrounds to converge on the “dimensions” that contribute to the haptic perception of surfaces. Understanding these dimensions may ultimately help define the requirements of next-generation devices that can effectively record and playback touch for all or a specific subset of surfaces, enabling new applications in e-commerce, telerobotics and AR/VR where users can ultimately feel the virtual, remote or pre-recorded surfaces they’re touching.

Publisher's Version Info

Sun, Mar 25, 14:00 - 16:00, California West
Sun, Mar 25, 16:15 - 17:30, California East

Works in Progress
Mon, Mar 26, 20:00 - 21:30, Colonial Ballroom

A Control Method of Asymmetric Vibrations for a Quantitative Evaluation of Induced Pulling Sensation
Takeshi Tanabe, Hiroaki Yano, and Hiroo Iwata
University of Tsukuba, Japan
It is known that humans experience a kinesthetic illusion, like a pulling sensation in a particular direction, when asymmetric vibrations are presented. However, the perceptual mechanism of this illusion has not been well clarified. In this study, we have developed a device that can control the vibrations for quantitative evaluation of the pulling sensation induced by exerting asymmetric vibrations to user’s fingertip. As a result of an evaluation, it was confirmed that this device can generate acceleration of target asymmetric vibration even if frequency and participants are changed.

Publisher's Version
A Multi-chamber Pneumatic Actuator to Render a Percept of Softness to the Finger Pad
Alton R. Sharpe, Steven C. Hauser, and Gregory J. Gerling
University of Virginia, USA
The display of compliance, or ‘softness,’ to the finger pad is important for replicating interactions such as holding another’s hand and identifying tissue irregularities. To contribute to work in this area, we designed a multi-chamber pneumatic actuator, fabricated of silicone elastomer with concentric rings at its surface coupled to a drum at its base. Using air pressure, different combinations of chambers can be inflated to variable degrees in real-time. In this way, attributes including the curvature, displacement, and spatial features of its surface as well as bulk compliance can be separately configured. Such capability is needed to decipher the cutaneous cues that drive perception. Precise cues remain unresolved, but likely tie to contact area as a function of force or displacement, over time. In a series of imaging and force measurement experiments, the actuator was evaluated in producing concave and convex surfaces, displacing upward, and inflating its drum. Spatial features from single hard spots to open holes were also produced. The next steps, leading to psychophysical experiments, are to further miniaturize and increase the number of surface rings, and integrate the actuator with a wearable fixture on the finger.

Publisher's Version
A Touch Panel for Presenting Softness with a Virtual Image
Karen Anastasia Murata, Erika Oishi, Takuto Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kajimoto, Takahiro Sano, and Masayuki Naya
University of Electro-Communications, Japan; FUJIFILM, Japan
In this study, we tested a novel system for manipulating the sensation of hardness and softness using a touch panel in augmented reality (AR) space. Many studies of touch panel-based haptic displays have developed methods for manipulating macro-roughness (shape), fine-roughness (texture), and friction. However, few studies have examined the sensation of softness. Here we used a film-winding mechanism to present tangential force opposite to the tangential displacement of the fingers, which functioned as a sufficient cue for the sensation of softness. We combined this with a visual cue for softness, adding visual shadow to the display of the virtual image generated by a half-mirror, which indicated visual deformation of the object.

Publisher's Version
Can Humans Infer Haptic Surface Properties from Images?
Alex Burka and Katherine J. Kuchenbecker
University of Pennsylvania, USA; Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Germany
Human children typically experience their surroundings both visually and haptically, providing ample opportunities to learn rich cross-sensory associations. To thrive in human environments and interact with the real world, robots also need to build models of these cross-sensory associations; current advances in machine learning should make it possible to infer models from large amounts of data. We previously built a visuo-haptic sensing device, the Proton Pack, and are using it to collect a large database of matched multimodal data from tool-surface interactions. As a benchmark to compare with machine learning performance, we conducted a human subject study (n = 84) on estimating haptic surface properties (here: hardness, roughness, friction, and warmness) from images. Using a 100-surface subset of our database, we showed images to study participants and collected 5635 ratings of the four haptic properties, which we compared with ratings made by the Proton Pack operator and with physical data recorded using motion, force, and vibration sensors. Preliminary results indicate weak correlation between participant and operator ratings, but potential for matching up certain human ratings (particularly hardness and roughness) with features from the literature.

Publisher's Version
Co-design of Forward-Control and Force-Feedback Methods for Teleoperation of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
Dawei Zhang and Rebecca P. Khurshid
Boston University, USA
The core hypothesis of this ongoing research project is that co-designing haptic-feedback and forward-control methods for shared-control teleoperation will enable the operator to more readily understand the shared-control algorithm, better enabling him or her to work collaboratively with the shared-control technology.} This paper presents a novel method that can be used to co-design forward control and force feedback in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) teleoperation. In our method, a potential field is developed to quickly calculate the UAV's risk of collision online. We also create a simple proxy to represent the operator's confidence, using the swiftness with which the operator sends commands the to UAV. We use these two factors to generate both a scale factor for a position-control scheme and the magnitude of the force feedback to the operator. Currently, this methodology is being implemented and refined in a 2D-simulated environment. In the future, we will evaluate our methods with user study experiments using a real UAV in a 3D environment.

Publisher's Version
Continuous and Transparent Authentication of Haptic Users
Fatimah Elsayed, Kiran Balagani, Paolo Gasti, Chung Hyuk Park, and Anand Santhanakrishnan
New York Institute of Technology, USA; George Washington University, USA
The security of telerobotic systems used to perform critical tasks is of paramount importance because compromising these systems can result in significant harm. In this paper, we attempt to address threats leading to illegitimate access to telerobotic devices. We conducted an experiment in which 32 users explored a virtual scene using a haptic device, while receiving almost no visual feedback. Our results show that haptic signals collected during a session can be successfully used to distinguish between users. As a result, telerobotic operators can be authenticated transparently throughout a session by relying on haptic measurements.

Publisher's Version
Continuous Linear Sensations from a Sequential Discrete Lateral Skin-Slip Haptic Device
Cara M. Nunez, Sophia R. Williams, Allison M. Okamura, and Heather Culbertson
Stanford University, USA; University of Southern California, USA
A continuous stroking sensation on the skin can convey messages or emotion cues to individuals. We seek to induce this sensation using a combination of illusory motion and lateral stroking in a single device. We present a device that provides discrete lateral skin-slip on the forearm by actuating five separate tactors, which independently provide lateral skin-slip in a timed sequence to induce a stroking sensation. We validated the device design and optimized the actuation parameters for pleasantness and continuity through a user study with 16 participants.

Publisher's Version
Design and Analysis of a High Performance Impedance Based Hybrid Haptic Interface
Patrick Dills, Chembian Parthiban, It Fufuengsin, Nick Colonnese, and Michael Zinn
University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA; Oculus Research, USA
This paper describes the design of a novel, high-performance one degree-of-freedom hybrid haptic interface. The interface integrates a particle brake, a Series Elastic Actuator (SEA), and a small DC motor into a single actuator. Unlike existing hybrid designs, the one presented here does not suffer from a significant mismatch between passive and active torque capability. The paper describes the design of the three actuator components. The motivation for selecting a particle brake is discussed. The SEA design approach is contextualized through its integration into the hybrid actuator, and the ideal SEA spring stiffness for the actuator is explored. Finally, mini motor design and sizing considering SEA and particle brake performance is included. The interface design provides insight into the dynamics of the system as a whole and allows for additional future work in control and optimization.

Publisher's Version
Design of a Wearable Kinesthetic Feedback Device to Study the Effects of Different Hand-Grounding Locations on User Performance
Sajid Nisar, Takahiro Endo, Fumitoshi Matsuno, and Allison M. Okamura
Stanford University, USA; Kyoto University, Japan
Grounding of kinesthetic feedback against a user's hand can potentially increase the portability and wearability of a haptic device. However, the effects of different hand-grounding locations on the haptic experience of a user are hitherto unexplored. We present a haptic device design that provides kinesthetic feedback grounded against three different locations on a user hand --- the back of the hand, and the proximal and middle phalanges of the index finger. The proposed 2-degree-of-freedom haptic device is modular, light-weight, and wearable. In different grounding modes, the device can provide kinesthetic feedback along the axis of the index finger, and in the direction of its flexion and extension movements. The device will be used in a virtual environment based study to compare user performance in different hand-grounding modes.

Publisher's Version
Electrical and Kinesthetic Stimulation for Virtual Walking Sensation
Hirofumi Kaneko, Ren Koide, Yasushi Ikei, Tomohiro Amemiya, Koichi Hirota, and Michiteru Kitazaki
Tokyo Metropolitan University, Japan; NTT, Japan; University of Electro-Communications, Japan; Toyohashi University of Technology, Japan
The effect of electrical stimulation applied to the lower limb tendons on the sensation of virtual walking was investigated. The virtual walking, here, is a passive experience in which the user sees and acts virtually as some other person did to learn through his/her experience. A display device was developed to provide electrical stimulation to sensory nerves in the Achilles tendon and the tibialis anterior tendon. A kinesthetic stimulus and visual stimulus were simultaneously provided to a seated participant. We measured the sensations of walking and translational motion regarding three factors of electrical, kinesthetic and visual stimuli. The result obtained from eleven participants revealed that the three factors were significant in enhancing the sensation of virtual walking. The electrical stimulation for proprioception seemed effective to compensate the characteristics of passive kinesthetic playback of experiences.

Publisher's Version
Estimation of Racket Grip Vibration from Tennis Video using Neural Network
Kentaro Yoshida, Yuuki Horiuchi, Tomohiro Ichiyama, Seki Inoue, Yasutoshi Makino, and Hiroyuki Shinoda
University of Tokyo, Japan
In this work, vibrotactile signal felt by a person in a tennis video is automatically estimated from the visual and audio information by using neural network. The system is based on a similar concept to VibVid proposed by the authors. We believe that VibVid system can greatly reduce the effort to describe mathematical models to generate tactile information from diverse videos. In this paper, we try more general and difficult task than the previous research in order to examine the system robustness. We limit the video scene to the back view of a tennis player rallying, but other factors such as locations, player’s clothes, sound environments are arbitrary. We use tennis videos taken in three locations for neural network learning of the relation between the video and measured acceleration of the racket grip. Then we show the grip sensation can be successfully estimated from an unknown video which is taken in a different location from learning. In this case, we plan to examine how to recognize shots more accurately and reproduce high quality tactile sensations.

Publisher's Version Video Info
Evaluation of Non-collocated Force Feedback Driven by BCI-Based Noisy Signals
Darrel R. Deo, Zonghe Chua, and Allison M. Okamura
Stanford University, USA
Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) can measure movement-related neural activity and decode it into command signals that drive external devices. These command signals are usually biased with neural decoder noise. Haptic feedback is an emerging feedback modality for BCIs, and it is unknown how users execute tasks given haptic feedback driven by noisy command signals. We propose an experiment that measures task performance while a user is provided with non-collocated haptic feedback with varying magnitudes of noise. Our preliminary results point to performance degradation with increasing magnitude of noise. The results also suggest that users change their search strategy depending on the amount of noise. A formal user study is planned for future work.

Publisher's Version
Exploring Laterotactile Reading for Non-Braille Users
Anupama Thomas and Elizabeth Rufus
Vellore Institute of Technology, India
This work focusses on single cell laterotactile reading for users who do not know Braille. In this method of presentation of words with a single actuator, letters that constitute the word come right under the primary reading finger of the user. We look at the accuracy and the speed of reading for blindfolded sighted users who read tactually by virtue of the memory they have of the shapes of letters. In testing with ten blind-folded sighted users, good results were obtained with an average accuracy of 90%.The average speed of reading was 6-7 WPM. These results will find their application in the design of laterotactile readers for late–blind users who do not know Braille.

Publisher's Version
Grip Amplifier: A Residual Force Control Strategy to Support Pinch Grip with a Minimalistic Hand Exoskeleton
Quentin Sanders, Joan Lobo-Prat, and David Reinkensmeyer
University of California at Irvine, USA
Hand exoskeletons could potentially improve hand use after a stroke or other conditions that weaken the hand, but are typically obtrusive, and it is still unclear how to provide intuitive control. Here, we propose and pilot test with unimpaired subjects a grip force control strategy suitable for a minimalistic hand exoskeleton. The strategy is based on three experimental observations seen in studies conducted in our lab with unimpaired individuals and stroke survivors. First, using only a pinch grip, unimpaired people can achieve a substantial level of clinical hand function. Second, people with severe hand impairment after stroke have a surprisingly well-preserved ability to control isometric finger flexion force. Third, force generation is highly correlated between fingers after a stroke. These observations suggest the strategy of measuring the isometric flexion force produced by digits 3-5 (middle-pinky finger) against the palm to control the force of an exoskeleton assisting in pinch grip, while preserving haptic input. We implemented this “residual force control” strategy using the FINGER exoskeleton and found that unimpaired subjects could intuitively use this strategy to pick up an object and learn to amplify their grip force with this strategy. We are preparing to test this “grip amplifier” with people with stroke.

Publisher's Version
Haptics of Screwing and Unscrewing for Its Application in Robotics
Dima Mironov, Miguel Altamirano, Alina Liviniuk, Hasan Zabihifar, Kamal Youcef-Toumi, and Dzmitry Tsetserukou
Skoltech, Russia; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
Reconstruction of the skilled human sensations and design of a related control system is important for robust control of the robots. We are developing an unscrewing robot with a comprehensive control system for the automated disassembly of electronic devices. Experiments involve screwing and unscrewing, and since humans typically have a broad range of screwing experiences and sensations throughout their lives, we conducted a series of experiments to find out these haptic patterns. Results show that people apply axial force to the screws to avoid screwdriver slippage (cam-outs), which is one of the key problems during screwing and unscrewing, and this axial force is proportional to the torque which is required for screwing, that depends on the type of the screw head. This knowledge will make the unscrewing control systems more robust and enable development of realistic simulators.

Publisher's Version
Interactive Generation of Virtual Fixtures for Bilateral Teleoperation
Vitalii Pruks, Ildar Farkhatdinov, and Jee-Hwan Ryu
KOREATECH, South Korea; Queen Mary University of London, UK
We present a method for interactive virtual fixtures definition for bilateral teleoperation. The proposed approach is based on the extraction of geometrical features (shapes and surfaces) from depth video cameras which are then displayed interactively to a human-operator through a graphical interface. The human-operator can select these automatically detected graphical features and associate virtual fixtures to them which are directly taken into account by the bilateral controller. The developed system enables on-fly definition of virtual fixtures of different types.

Publisher's Version
Hardness Perception of Viscoelasticity in a Probing Task
Fangshu He, Ravindra S. Goonetilleke, and Caroline G. L. Cao
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, China; Wright State University, USA
In minimally invasive surgery, indirect contact leads to impaired haptic feedback for the surgeon. In this study, considering the viscoelasticity of human tissues and organs, we assessed the effect of damping and spring constant on hardness perception. Dampers which exhibit both elastic property and viscous property were designed and manufactured using 3D printing technology. In the experiment, the ability to distinguish hardness was evaluated using a magnitude estimation method. Two different ways of holding the tool were used in a probing task. Force data were also analyzed to determine the role of force feedback relative to elasticity and viscosity. Preliminary results suggest that the major factor in hardness perception in this context is force application, followed by spring constant and damping coefficient. Implications for tool design will be considered in light of these results.

Publisher's Version
Haptipedia: An Expert-Sourced Interactive Device Visualization for Haptic Designers
Hasti Seifi, Karon E. MacLean, Katherine J. Kuchenbecker, and Gunhyuk Park
Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Germany; University of British Columbia, Canada
Much of three decades of haptic device invention is effectively lost to today's designers: dispersion across time, region, and discipline imposes an incalculable drag on innovation in this field. Our goal is to make historical haptic invention accessible through interactive navigation of a comprehensive library -- a Haptipedia -- of devices that have been annotated with designer-relevant metadata. To build this open resource, we will systematically mine the literature and engage the haptics community for expert annotation. In a multi-year broad-based initiative, we will empirically derive salient attributes of haptic devices, design an interactive visualization tool where device creators and repurposers can efficiently explore and search Haptipedia, and establish methods and tools to manually and algorithmically collect data from the haptics literature and our community of experts. This paper outlines progress in compiling an initial corpus of grounded force-feedback devices and their attributes, and it presents a concept sketch of the interface we envision.

Publisher's Version
Investigating the After-Effects of Stochastic Resonance for Use in Laparoscopic Surgery
Muhammed S. Hamdan and Caroline G. L. Cao
Wright State University, USA
Laparoscopic surgery is a modern surgical technique in which surgeons insert surgical tools through small incisions they make in the abdomen to perform a surgical procedure. Surgeons typically have only a limited 2D visual feedback based on a small camera that is inserted into the abdomen, and minimal haptic feedback that is transmitted through the rigid surgical tools. Our previous study showed that the phenomenon, Stochastic Resonance (SR), observed by the introduction of white noise at a subthreshold level, enhances surgeons' performance (Accuracy and Speed) in laparoscopic surgeries by increasing their sensitivity, through a significant increase in Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), to haptic feedback. Our current research studies the after-effect of SR application for a better and more effective implementation of this technology in the design of medical devices, surgical instruments and laparoscopic tools.

Publisher's Version
LinkGlide: A Wearable Haptic Device with Inverted Five-Bar Linkages for Delivering Multi-contact and Multi-modal Tactile Stimuli
Dzmitry Tsetserukou
Skoltech, Russia
We propose a novel palm-worn tactile display LinkGlide for presentation of the physical properties of the movable object in the hand, such as, weight, slippage, texture. LinkGlide consists of three 2-DoF LinkTouch devices distributed in parallel planes to produce the sliding force on the skin and the contact state at the palm. Two servo motors of each LinkTouch device control the planar position of the single contact point between palm and linkage, therefore, three dynamic contact points can be created. When we need to generate the sensation of object sliding downwards, all three contact points moves on the skin surface from upper side of the palm in the same direction. The force of at contact point is controlled using the pressure sensor and impedance control, thus, the desired pressure while sliding motion can be generated to represent object of different weight, and to simulate the object softness. The frequency at the end-effector is generated by the high-frequency oscillations of two motors, so the sensation of friction against the textured clothes can be simulated. In the paper, we describe the mechanism structure, kinematics, force analysis and design principle.

Publisher's Version
Mathematical Models to Convert Strain Energy Density into Mechanoreceptor Activity for Finite Element Analysis
Shouki Kitaguchi, Hidenori Yoshimura, and Hiroki Ishizuka
Kagawa University, Japan
In this study, we propose analytic models for finite element method (FEM) analysis to estimate mechanoreceptor activity. In order to evaluate contact to fine surfaces, a crosssectional finger model with a high mesh resolution at the stratum corneum was applied to the analysis. The obtained von Mises stress at each mechanoreceptor position was converted into mechanoreceptor activity using mathematical firing models of the mechanoreceptors. First, we determined the coefficients in the mathematical firing models using the results for neural thresholds. Then, we verified responses of the modeled mechanoreceptors to lump stimulation. The obtained results indicate that the proposed models can simulate the activity of mechanoreceptors.

Publisher's Version
Neural Correlates of Dynamic Adaptation during Wrist Pointing
Andria J. Farrens, Andrea Zonnino, and Fabrizio Sergi
University of Delaware, USA
Our group recently developed a novel fMRI-compatible wrist robot, the MR-SoftWrist, to study the neural correlates of force-field adaptation. Here we present our first fMRI pilot study on four healthy subjects. Our results validate the MR-SoftWrist as a tool for investigating motor adaptation during wrist pointing movements executed during fMRI, and compare neural activations associated with motor control in three different dynamic conditions.

Publisher's Version
Planar Force Feedback Display using a Magnetic Stylus and Lorentz Forces
Peter Berkelman, Bernadette Tix, and Hamza Abdul-Ghani
University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA
This paper describes the design and development of an electromagnetic system incorporated into a graphical display to provide haptic feedback forces on the tip of a stylus held near the display, according to the stylus position and virtual fixtures implemented in software. An array of magnetometer sensors is used to detect the position of the stylus tip, while a pair of box-shaped coils behind the display produce forces on the stylus in the plane of the display.

Publisher's Version
Stiffness Perception of Virtual Objects using FOLDAWAY-Touch
Marco Salerno, Stefano Mintchev, Alexandre Cherpillod, Simone Scaduto, and Jamie Paik
EPFL, Switzerland
Haptic human interfaces are nowadays becoming more and more popular also thanks to their combined use with Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality (VR & AR). Although many research platforms explore hand interaction with virtual objects, the only feedback available in widespread commercial devices is the simple vibration. In this paper we introduce “FOLDAWAY-Touch” a novel portable kinesthetic haptic interface whose technology can be easily integrated in commercial devices. The key technological aspects are the origami inspired miniaturized parallel platform, that is in contact with the human finger, and the compact actuation and transmission that makes the device very portable. Another achievement of this paper is the use of FOLDAWAY-Touch for conducting experiments with users in order to investigate their capability to discriminate different level of stiffness.

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The Effects of Transition Type and Haptic Feedback on Shared Control of a Simulated Vehicle
Steven Cutlip, Akshay Bhardwaj, Lars Watts, and R. Brent Gillespie
University of Michigan, USA
Safety is often compromised when control is transitioned between a human and automation system. To explore what features of an automation system interface are most critical to safety, we explored four schemes for transitioning control in a driving simulator that featured a motorized steering wheel. The four schemes differ according to whether transitions are discrete or continuous and whether they include haptic communication between driver and automation system across the steering wheel, in the axis of control. The driving task required regular shifts of authority to avoid obstacles and conditionally included a secondary task. Preliminary results indicate that continuous transitions carry an advantage for secondary task performance and haptic communication aides in avoiding obstacles.

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Thermal Stimulation Effect on Emotion
Mehdi Hojatmadani and Kyle B. Reed
University of South Florida, USA
Emotions can be affected by a wide variety of environmental parameters. The effect of heat and cold has been studied just recently. It has been shown that heat can affect feelings by applying a thermal stimuli on the palm and acquiring self-reported responses. In this study, we evaluate the effect of thermal stimulation on emotions by applying thermal stimulation on two locations of the body and collecting data through self-report and physiological responses. The goal of this study is to understand if applying temperature to an individual’s skin can predispose them to a different emotion.

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Touch and Weight Sensitive Robotic Arm for UAV Aimed at Aerial Manipulation and Safe Physical Human-Drone Interaction
Grigoriy A. Yashin, Ivan A. Kalinov, Evgeny V. Tsykunov, and Dzmitry Tsetserukou
Skoltech, Russia
The paper focuses on the touch and weight sensitive robotic manipulator DroneArm for UAV, which allows grasping the objects from the warehouse shelves, and delivering them to the destination, even directly to the human hands. The robot can determine the identifier (bar code) and position of the object, estimate their weight and react on collision with human and obstacle. The experiments showed the stable behavior of the flying robot during the manipulator movement, high accuracy of the weight estimation, and robust collision detection.

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Towards a Generalized Experimental Framework for Comparing Haptic Feedback Modalities in Myoelectric Upper-Limb Prostheses
Neha Thomas, Jacob Carducci, and Jeremy D. Brown
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, USA; Johns Hopkins University, USA
In this paper, we present an experimental testbed and methodology for comparing the utility of kinesthetic and vibrotactile feedback of grip force and grip aperture in a myoelectric upper-limb prosthesis. The testbed features a cable-driven voluntary-closing 1-DoF prosthesis, a cable-driven elbow exoskeleton for rendering joint-torque feedback, and a vibrotactile actuation unit. The system is capable of measuring the stiffness of objects being grasped by the prosthesis terminal device and present this information to users as an extension moment about the elbow. The system is also capable of rendering grip force and grip aperture as vibration. To equally compare kinesthetic and vibrotactile feedback, a cross-modal matching study was conducted which indicated that the normalized exoskeleton force intensity should be higher than the normalized vibration intensity for the two modalities to be perceived the same. The results of this preliminary analysis will guide future investigations into the utility of kinesthetic and vibrotactile feedback, as well as various other haptic feedback modalities, in object recognition and discrimination tasks with upper-limb myoelectric prostheses.

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Towards a Statistical Model of Fingertip Contact Deformations from 4D Data
David Gueorguiev, Dimitrios Tzionas, Claudio Pacchierotti, Michael J. Black, and Katherine J. Kuchenbecker
Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Germany; CNRS, France
Little is known about the shape and properties of the human finger during haptic interaction even though this knowledge is essential to control wearable finger devices and deliver realistic tactile feedback. This study explores a framework for four-dimensional scanning and modeling of finger-surface interactions, aiming to capture the motion and deformations of the entire finger with high resolution. The results show that when the fingertip is actively pressing a rigid surface, it undergoes lateral expansion of about 0.2 cm and proximal/distal bending of about 30°, deformations that cannot be captured by imaging of the contact area alone. This project constitutes a first step towards an accurate statistical model of the finger's behavior during haptic interaction.

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Towards an Understanding of the Role Operator Limb Dynamics Plays in Haptic Perception of Stiffness
Mohit Singhala and Jeremy D. Brown
Johns Hopkins University, USA
Creating haptic interfaces capable of rendering the rich sensation needed for dexterous manipulation is crucial for the advancement of human-in-the-loop telerobotic systems (HiLTS). One limiting factor has been the absence of detailed knowledge of the effect of operator limb dynamics and haptic exploration dynamics on haptic perception. We propose to begin investigations of these effects with single-joint haptic exploration and feedback of physical and virtual environments. Here, we present our experimental apparatus, a 1-DoF rotational kinesthetic haptic device and electromyography (EMG) system, along with preliminary findings from our efforts to investigate the change in stiffness discrimination thresholds for differing exploration velocities. Result trends indicate a possible relationship between exploration velocity and discrimination thresholds, as well as a complex interaction between muscle activation, exploration velocity, and haptic feedback.

Publisher's Version
Towards Haptic Transparency in Real-Time MRI-Guided Needle Biopsies: A 3-DOF Manipulator
Samuel Frishman, Genliang Chen, Alexander Gruebele, and Mark Cutkosky
Stanford University, USA; Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides safe, high contrast images and is often the preferred diagnostic tool over ultrasound and computer tomography (CT). Despite its advantages, physicians do not perform surgical interventions, such as liver or breast biopsies, with real-time MRI guidance because they are unable to reach patients inside the MRI bore. To address this challenge, we present an MRI compatible teleoperator that enables needle manipulation in three degrees of freedom (3-DOF). The device provides haptic feedback through a low friction, high stiffness hydrostatic transmissions and is a step towards haptic transparency in real-time MRI guided interventions.

Publisher's Version
Training Behavior of Successful Tacton-Phoneme Learners
Genna Angello, Guanlong Zhao, Akhil Babu Manam, and Ricardo Gutierrez-Osuna
Texas A&M University, USA
Sixteen subjects were trained with a user-driven interface to recognize sixteen tacton-phoneme pairs. To improve distinctiveness, tactons were created from vibrotactile stimuli that varied based on four forearm locations: dorsal/ventral, wrist/elbow; and four vibration patterns: continuous, short, fast, and frequency-modulated. To improve memorability, vibration patterns were assigned to similar-sounding phonemes. Subjects were asked to select the phoneme associated with each played tacton following a 30-minute training session consisting of interleaved learning and practice tests, during which they were free to choose the number of tactons and the difficulty of each practice test. Subjects who performed best on the final test chose to receive (i) more repetition during the practice tests and (ii) more difficult practice tests that resembled the final test. These two strategies gave successful learners greater opportunity for strengthening the association between tactons and phonemes.

Publisher's Version

Demonstrations

Demonstrations: Odd-Numbered Posters
Mon, Mar 26, 14:45 - 16:30, Grand Ballroom

Haptic Feedback to Non-manipulating Hand in Manipulating Virtual Hand
Naruki Tanabe, Yuki Asai, Ryuichi Enomoto, Haruka Matsukura, Daisuke Iwai, and Kosuke Sato
Osaka University, Japan
We proposed a projection mapping interface enabling interaction with unreachable objects by overlaid graphical hands. A user's motion on a touch panel is amplified, and the user's virtual hand (VH) is graphically extended on a real scene. While the user manipulates VH by the user's right hand, haptic feedback is provided to the other hand in our system. The more fingers the haptic feedback is given, the stronger the sense of touching real object (STRO). In the demo, the user will experience STRO to the object which only VH touches.

Publisher's Version
From a Robot's Fingertip to Yours: Simulating Real-World Textures through Quantified Touch
Ariel Stutzman, Vijay Anandani, and Jeremy Fishel
SynTouch, USA
This research explores using SynTouch’s tactile measurement system (Toccare) to record texture properties and novel haptic displays to replay them. The Toccare uses a biomimetic tactile sensor that explores surfaces to measure 15 dimensions of touch (Fishel, 2012). When inverting measured data to create haptic display functions, the realism of those rendered textures when compared to their physical counterparts was highly restricted by the capabilities of the display. A wide range of displays were explored and our best results were achieved when simulating various sizes of wire mesh on an electrostatic friction display (Meyer, 2013; Tanvas)

Publisher's Version
Estimation and Presentation of Racket Grip Vibration with Tennis Video
Kentaro Yoshida, Yuuki Horiuchi, Tomohiro Ichiyama, Seki Inoue, Yasutoshi Makino, and Hiroyuki Shinoda
University of Tokyo, Japan
In this study, vibrotactile perception of a person in a video is estimated from the visual and audio information by using neural network. In the estimation, we limit the video scene to the back view of a tennis player rallying. But, our method can work regardless of the difference in some conditions such as locations, a player’s clothes, and sound environments. We use tennis videos taken in three locations for neural network learning of the relation between the video and measured acceleration of the racket grip. Then we show the grip sensation can be successfully estimated from an unknown video which was taken in a different location from learning. The quality of the produced vibrotactile sensation is also evaluated by a subject experiment. In the demonstration, user can experience the estimated (or real) vibrotactile sensation with our device imitating a tennis racket grip while watching the corresponding video.

Publisher's Version
Biometric Campfire
Alan J. Macy
BIOPAC SYSTEMS, USA; University of California at Santa Barbara, USA
The Biometric Campfire art project operates via the principle of differential biopotential signal amplification. The participants place their hands upon the campfire chairs’ domed silver / silver chloride surfaces and the detected electrical signals are amplified approximately 30,000 times. The detected signals are the participants’ Lead I electrocardiograms. This Lead is a standard measure during a typical medical electrocardiograph (ECG) recording. The amplified ECGs are directed to haptic (touch sensation) transducers within the chairs and illuminating light sources constituting the “campfire”. The visceral environment generated within the confines of the Biometric Campfire is fully determined by the participants’ measured ECGs.

Publisher's Version
An Inverse Neural Network Model for Data-Driven Texture Rendering on Electrovibration Display
Reza Haghighi Osgouei, Sunghwan Shin, Seongwon Cho, Jin Ryong Kim, and Seungmoon Choi
POSTECH, South Korea
We propose a data-driven method for realistic texture rendering on an electrovibration display. To compensate the nonlinear dynamics of an electrovibration display, we use nonlinear autoregressive with external input (NARX) neural networks as an inverse dynamics model of an electrovibration display. The neural networks are trained with lateral forces resulting from actuating the display with a pseudo-random binary signal (PRBS). The lateral forces collected from the textured surface with various scanning velocities and normal forces are fed into the neural network to generate the actuation signal for the display. The generated signal is interpolated by user’s scanning velocities and normal forces measured by an infrared-ray frame and a load cell in real time.

Publisher's Version
Wearable Haptics to Render Interaction Forces and Object Textures in 3D Virtual Environments
Giovanni Spagnoletti, Leonardo Meli, Tommaso Lisini Baldi, Guido Gioioso, Claudio Pacchierotti, and Domenico Prattichizzo
University of Siena, Italy; IIT, Italy; CNRS, France
This work proposes a haptic-enabled immersive virtual reality system, capable of conveying the sensation of touching objects made of different materials by rendering pressure and texture stimuli through a moving platform and a vibrotactile motor. At the beginning, the virtual environment is composed of three objects made of different materials and placed on the table. A hand model is also rendered to mimic the user’s hand pose. After a familiarization phase, subjects are presented with a different environment, having only one object on the table and whose material is hidden. Users have to interact with it and guess its material.

Publisher's Version
Combination of Cathodic Electrical Stimulation and Mechanical Damped Sinusoidal Vibration to Express Tactile Softness in the Tapping Process
Vibol Yem and Hiroyuki Kajimoto
University of Electro-Communications, Japan
In our study, we proposed a method that combines cathodic electrical stimulation, which produces a pressure-like sensation, with a mechanical damped sinusoidal vibration for expressing the sensation of tactile softness in the tapping process. Experiment showed that pressure sensation produced by cathodic stimulation mostly affects the perception of softness, allowing our method to reproduce sensations of softness/hardness over a wider range than when using mechanical vibration alone. In the demo, participants can experience the sensation produced by this combination of stimulation and compare it to the sensation produced by each of these stimulation.

Publisher's Version
Touchy: Tactile Sensations on Touchscreens using a Cursor and Visual Effects
Antoine Costes, Fabien Danieau, Ferran Arguelaguet, Anatole Lécuyer, and Philippe Guillotel
Technicolor, France; Inria, France
Touchy is a novel approach to enhance images on touchscreens with haptic effects through purely visual cues. A symbolic cursor is introduced under the user's finger(s), which shape and motion are altered in order to express a variety of haptic properties : hardness/softness, roughness/smoothness, bumpiness/flatness, or stickiness/slipperiness. Because it is purely software, Touchy does not require additional hardware and is very easy to widespread. It is multitouch and several users can experiment independent pseudo-haptic effects simultaneoulsy. We propose to Haptic Symposium attendees to interact with a gallery of haptic images showcasing six different effects on a tactile tablet.

Publisher's Version
shapeShift: A Mobile Tabletop Shape Display for Tangible and Haptic Interaction
Alexa Fay Siu, Eric J. Gonzalez, Shenli Yuan, Jason Bud Ginsberg, and Sean Follmer
Stanford University, USA
shapeShift is a compact, high-resolution (7 mm pitch), mobile tabletop shape display. We explore interactions enabled by 2D spatial manipulation and self-actuation of a tabletop shape display. On a passive platform, the user is able to freely move and spin the display as it renders spatially relevant content. We introduce use cases for rendering lateral I/O elements, exploring volumetric datasets, and grasping objects. On a self-actuated platform, shapeShift can display moving objects and provide both vertical and lateral kinesthetic feedback. We show its use as an encounter-type haptic device combined with a head-mounted display.

Publisher's Version
EmBIT: Electromechanical Boundary Impedance Tomography for Soft Tactile Sensor
Shunsuke Yoshimoto, Yoshihiro Kuroda, and Osamu Oshiro
Osaka University, Japan
We propose a novel tactile sensing method for imaging pressure distribution on an object based on electromechanical boundary impedance tomography (EmBIT). The sensor consists of driving and proving layers which are electromechanically coupled according to the pressure and the system solves an optimization problem to find the electromechanical boundary impedance related to contact pressure. The potential at each electrode is used to find the electrical boundary condition between the layers. The proposed method can be customized for an object of arbitrary shape. In the demonstration, we show the imaging results using the sheet-type and finger-type sensors in real time.

Publisher's Version
Authoring New Haptic Textures Based on Interpolation of Real Textures in Affective Space: A Demo
Waseem Hassan, Arsen Abdulali, and Seokhee Jeon
Kyung Hee University, South Korea
We present a haptic texture authoring algorithm for synthesizing new virtual textures by manipulating affective properties of existing real textures. Two different spaces are established: ``affective space'' built from a series of psychophysical experiments and ``haptic model space'' built on features from tool-surface contact vibrations. Another space, called ``authoring space'' is formed by merging the two spaces, whereby, features of model space that were highly correlated with affective space become axes of the space. Thus, new texture signal corresponding to any point in authoring space can be synthesized by weighted interpolation of nearest real surfaces in perceptually correct manner.

Publisher's Version
A Tactile Display with Touch Sensing using a High-Density Microfluidic Chip
Alexander Russomanno, Hrishikesh Rao, Thanasarn Tantivirun, Sile O'Modhrain, and R. Brent Gillespie
University of Michigan, USA
We present a touch-sensitive tactile display based on an array of bubble-like actuators integrated with a microfluidic chip. Each bubble is addressed by a corresponding fluidic memory circuit - the fluidic equivalent of an electronic memory circuit – that stores binary information (1s and 0s) as high and low pressures. The bubbles and memory circuits are fabricated together in a thin microfluidic chip using large-scale integration and low-cost silicone materials. The fluidic memory circuits are arranged within the chip to realize an XY-addressable static memory device. A minimal number of electronic valves can control an exponentially larger number of memory circuits and corresponding bubbles. The resulting thin silicone chip is arranged on top of a touchscreen to enable co-located input and output functionality.

Publisher's Version
Haptics-Based Rehabilitation of ADL Skills using Massed Practice Therapy
Shrey Pareek, Pramod Chembrammel, and Thenkurussi Kesavadas
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA
Stroke has been identified globally as the leading cause of disability. These disabilities hinder performance of activities of daily living (ADL) such as writing, using cutlery, knife, tooth brush etc. which require fine motor control of the patient's hand. In this research, we adopt haptics technology to rehabilitate ADL skills in a home-setting. Using a combination of haptics and virtual-reality, we present a system that imitates a massed-practice-therapy regime that benefits from the inherent advantages of implicit therapy. The current implementation involves three tasks: handling a spoon, writing and 3D trajectory tracking game for improving fine motor skills.

Publisher's Version
Miniature Three Degree-of-Freedom Skin Deformation Actuator
Matthew Gilbertson, Zane Anthony Zook, Stephanie Moon, and Allison M. Okamura
Stanford University, USA
A miniature three degree-of-freedom actuator provides haptic stimulation via skin deformation on a user’s forearm. The device, which consists of a parallel delta-mechanism linkage driven by three servo motors, can produce skin stretch, normal force, and low frequency vibration. The 2 cm diameter footprint of the device enables multiple devices to be packed together with a high density, enabling an array of stimulation locations. The device was used to measure the directional skin stretch discriminability of human subjects on the forearm, and preliminary tests suggest that average angular error is approximately 27 degrees.

Publisher's Version
HUE: Hybrid Ultrasonic and Electrostatic Haptic Tablet
Kyle DeProw
Saint Louis University, USA
This demonstration will showcase our work in designing and creating the HUE tablet: a mobile platform capable of generating ultrasonic and electrostatic surface haptic sensations on a single surface. At 11.75” x 8.75”, this device is approximately the size of a typical tablet. Hands on demonstrations will convey to the user the broad ranges of haptic information achieved by leveraging these haptic modalities simultaneously. This will be done with a series of exercises that compare each individual modality’s effective haptic ranges to the one created by a hybridized haptic technique to access the efficacy of the hybridized approach.

Publisher's Version
A Touch Panel for Presenting Softness with a Virtual Image
Karen Anastasia Murata, Erika Oishi, Takuto Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kajimoto, Takahiro Sano, and Masayuki Naya
University of Electro-Communications, Japan; FUJIFILM, Japan
In this study, we tested a novel system for manipulating the sensation of hardness and softness using a touch panel in augmented reality (AR) space. Many studies of touch panel-based haptic displays have developed methods for manipulating macro-roughness (shape), fine-roughness (texture), and friction. However, few studies have examined the sensation of softness. Here we used a film-winding mechanism to present tangential force opposite to the tangential displacement of the fingers, which functioned as a sufficient cue for the sensation of softness. We also combined this with a visual cue for softness which indicated visual deformation of the object.

Publisher's Version
Demonstrating a Touch Amplification System for Augmented Surfaces
Anzu Kawazoe, Steve Fyke, Bryan Cunningham, Kayla Sparackin, Bharat Dandu, and Yon Visell
University of California at Santa Barbara, USA; Snap Pea Design, Canada
This demonstration presents a new approach for the haptic augmentation of surfaces via interactive touch amplification and action-dependent processing. The system consists of a finger-worn device, including a cutaneous vibration sensor and an actuator for stimulating the skin; a method of tracking the finger using a projected touch surface; and associated electronics. When a user touches a surface area that has been assigned a function, the touch-elicited vibrations are processed and amplified, augmenting what is felt by the finger in real-time. This system can augment everyday surfaces with tactile feedback, and could prove relevant to applications in human computer interfaces.

Publisher's Version

Demonstrations: Even-Numbered Posters
Tue, Mar 27, 14:30 - 16:30, Grand Ballroom

Haplink Customizations
Melisa Orta Martinez, Kaitlyn Gee, Tyler Cloyd, Maria Paula Hernandez, Thomas Hsieh, Bradley Immel, Jonathan A. Sosa, Meilan Steimle, Tiger Sun, and Allison M. Okamura
Stanford University, USA
Haplink is an open-source, 3-D printed haptic device for educational applications. Haplink can be used as a one-degree-of-freedom device and then be turned into a two-degree-of-freedom device such that students who have learned one-degree-of-freedom concepts can translate those concepts to two degrees of freedom. In Autumn 2017, students in an undergraduate class built one-degree-of-freedom versions of Haplink, expanded them into two-degree-of-freedom devices, and then customized them to create novel haptic applications. In this demonstration, we will present two new systems resulting from student-driven Haplink customization that validate the device's effectiveness for scaffolding concepts related to design, programming, control, and mechatronics.

Publisher's Version
Toward Improved Surgical Training: Mirror Tracing
William H. Jantscher, Shivam Pandey, Priyanshu Agarwal, Sadie H. Richardson, Bowie R. Lin, Michael D. Byrne, and Marcia K. O'Malley
Rice University, USA; Oculus Research, USA
This demonstration presents a mirror tracing task, designed to serve as a proxy for endovascular surgical procedures, and intended to facilitate study of the effectiveness of delivering performance feedback based on movement smoothness via a vibrotactile device. The task requires participants to navigate through a path using a Novint Falcon where the motion is inverted on both axes. The shape of the path is designed to emulate the navigational tasks required in endovascular surgical procedures. In the demo, participants will perform the mirror tracing task and receive vibration feedback via C-2 tactors that encode either position-based or smoothness-based performance feedback.

Publisher's Version
FOLDAWAY Touch – A Force Rendering Joystick for Virtual and Augmented Reality
Stefano Mintchev, Marco Salerno, Alexandre Cherpillod, Simone Scaduto, and Jamie Paik
EPFL, Switzerland
The immersive experience of VR and AR is often hindered by the lack of force feedback, especially when users want to grasp virtual objects. Indeed, commercial joysticks provide only a simple vibrational feedback while high-end haptic devices, capable of very accurate force rendering, are costly and bulky. FOLDAWAY touch leverages origami manufacturing to bring force feedback into users’ hands by shrinking high-end robotized mechanisms to the size of human fingers. In the demonstration, the user will wear VR goggles and will manipulate virtual objects while perceiving their stiffness through the handheld FOLDAWAY touch joystick.

Publisher's Version
A Control Method of Asymmetric Vibrations for a Quantitative Evaluation of Induced Pulling Sensation
Takeshi Tanabe, Hiroaki Yano, and Hiroo Iwata
University of Tsukuba, Japan
It is known that humans perceive a sense of force, like a pulling sensation in a particular direction, when asymmetric vibrations are presented. However, the perceptual mechanism of this illusion has not been well clarified. We have developed a device that can control the vibrations for quantitative evaluation of the pulling sensation induced by exerting asymmetric vibrations to user’s fingertip. It was confirmed that this device can generate acceleration of target asymmetric vibration even if frequency and participants are changed.

Publisher's Version
UltraShiver: Lateral Force Feedback on a Bare Fingertip via Ultrasonic Oscillation and Electroadhesion
Heng Xu, Michael A. Peshkin, and J. Edward Colgate
Northwestern University, USA
We propose a new lateral force feedback device, the UltraShiver, which employs a combination of in-plane ultrasonic oscillation (around 30 kHz) and out-of-plane electroadhesion. The lateral force is a result of friction being greater when electroadhesion is turned on than when it is turned off. The direction and magnitude of the lateral force can be adjusted by varying the phase between the in-plane oscillation and the electroadhesion. The UltraShiver is a simple and robust device that should serve as the basis for a wide variety of bare finger force feedback applications, such as virtual shape rendering.

Publisher's Version
FerroFluid Based Lightweight and Portable Tactile Haptic Display for Displaying Persuasive Haptic Cues of Material and Geometric Perception
Harsimran Singh, Bhivraj Suthar, Syed Zain Mehdi, and Jee-Hwan Ryu
KOREATECH, South Korea
We proposed a ferro-fluid based tactile display, which is lightweight and portable, but can replicate convincing contact orientation and texture information. Numerous studies have been conducted to develop tactile displays for providing convincing tactile feedback. However, most of the displays were limited in portability and restricted to delivering either texture information with vibrational cues or contact orientation with force feedback. To the best of our knowledge, the proposed tactile display is the first wearable tactile display which can deliver texture information together with contact orientation, and still be lightweight and portable. Introducing ferro-fluid allows minimizing the moving actuator components and also eliminates any counter reactive force on the fingernail of the user which may distort the tactile sensation otherwise. The demo will showcase ferro-fluid based tactile display for curvature discrimination and texture cues.

Publisher's Version
Electrostatic Adhesive Brakes for High Spatial Resolution Refreshable 2.5D Tactile Shape Displays
Kai Zhang and Sean Follmer
Stanford University, USA
We investigate the mechanism, design, modeling and fabrication of a scalable high resolution, low cost and lightweight refreshable 2.5D tactile pin array controlled by electrostatic adhesive brakes which are made by patterning interdigital electrodes on high dielectric constant thin films. We will present two high resolution brake modules which are 1.7 mm pitch with 0.8 mm width pins and 4 mm pitch with 1.58 mm width pins with a maximum measured dynamic loading force of 76.3 gf and static loading force of 28 gf on an individual pin and show a small demonstration of 4 *2 pin array.

Publisher's Version
Single Pitch Perception of Multi-frequency Textures
Rebecca Fenton Friesen, Roberta L. Klatzky, Michael A. Peshkin, and J. Edward Colgate
Northwestern University, USA; Carnegie Mellon University, USA
Two audio frequencies played together cannot be perceptually matched by a single frequency in between. But how does this translate to haptics; can a texture composed of two added spatial frequencies be perceptually matched by a single spatial frequency? Our recent work suggests we can match the pitch of these two textures, even if they are still distinguishable overall. We use an ultrasonic friction modulation device to display a composite texture side-by-side with a single frequency texture. A GUI allows users to make the best match by adjusting intensity and frequency. An audio version is available as well.

Publisher's Version
Development of a Wearable Haptic Device That Presents Haptics Sensation of the Finger Pad to the Forearm
Taha K. Moriyama, Ayaka Nishi, Rei Sakuragi, Takuto Nakamura, and Hiroyuki Kajimoto
University of Electro-Communications, Japan
While many wearable tactile displays for the fingers, such as fingertip-type and glove-type displays, have been developed, their weight and size typically hinder the free movement of fingers, especially when considering the multi-finger scenario. We propose a method of presenting the haptics sensation of the fingertip on the forearm, not on the fingertip, to address this issue. A five-bar linkage mechanism was adopted to present a two-degree-of-freedom force. We presented a pressure sensation and a horizontal friction sensation perceived by the index finger and thumb to forearm, and the realism of the grasping experience in virtual reality was better when using the designed device than for no haptics cue or for vibration conditions.

Publisher's Version
Harold's Haptic Crayon: Draw Your World, Then Feel It through a Ballpoint Drive
Soheil Kianzad and Karon E. MacLean
University of British Columbia, Canada
We present a novel untethered, grounded 2D force feedback mechanism, with applications in education and design. The ballpoint drive achieves grounding through rolling frictional contact on an arbitrary 2D surface: through a pen, users feel directional force applied by four actuators to a mouseball in the tip. The ballpoint can render virtual features (walls, springs, texture) and active guidance. We will demo two environments. Racecar: draw features (e.g., a road), then “drive” on the road, bouncing off the road edges and over speedbumps. Electrostatic Lab: place point charges, write an equation governing their attraction, then feel these forces.

Publisher's Version
CLAP: Soft-Hand Simulation Library for Natural Interaction
Daniel Lobo, Mickeal Verschoor, and Miguel A. Otaduy
Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Spain
Although the hands are the most natural interface to interact with the world, we are still not using them to interact with virtual worlds. CLAP takes a step in that direction providing a realistic haptics-ready simulation of soft-hand. User hand is tracked and his representation (coupled structure of FEM skin, articulated body, rigid bodies) is simulated in a virtual environment. The forces experimented by this representation are used to drive haptic/tactile devices. CLAP(mslab.es/clap) is easily integrated within real-time engines and customized drivers can be developed for any type of tactile, haptics or tracking device using the provided interface and SDK.

Publisher's Version
A Haptic Ring to Provide Skin Deformation and Thermal Cues
Guido Gioioso, Leonardo Meli, Giovanni Spagnoletti, Mirko Aurilio, and Domenico Prattichizzo
University of Siena, Italy; IIT, Italy
This demo proposes a haptic ring for immersive virtual reality interactive experiences. It is capable of conveying the sensation of touching objects by providing skin indentation and thermal cues through a moving platform and a Peltier cell, respectively. The user's hand is replicated in the virtual environment through a Leap Motion tracker. The user can interact with a can and set its temperature pushing two buttons: one lights a fire increasing the temperature and the other starts a nitrogen flow to decrease it. The Peltier cell comes in contact with the user's phalanx only when the can is touched.

Publisher's Version
Improving Perception Accuracy with Multi-modal Haptic Cue Delivery
Nathan Dunkelberger, Joshua Bradley, Jenny Sullivan, and Marcia K. O'Malley
Rice University, USA
This demonstration presents MISSIVE (Multi-modal Interface of Stretch, Squeeze, and Integrated Vibration Elements), a novel, wearable, and multi-modal haptic feedback system that allows for increased perceptual accuracy compared to uni-modal, vibrotactile arrays of comparable size. The device combines two original servo-driven actuators with commercially available vibrotactors that mount on the user’s upper-arm. Our multi-modal haptic cues are comprised of simultaneously rendered, yet perceptually distinct elements: radial squeezing, lateral skin-stretching, and cutaneous vibration. Experiments with human subjects demonstrate that our approach can increase perceptual accuracy compared to a uni-modal vibrotactile system of comparable size.

Publisher's Version
Continuous Lateral Motion Created using Sequential Normal Indentation for Displaying Social Haptic Cues
Heather Culbertson, Cara M. Nunez, and Allison M. Okamura
Stanford University, USA; University of Southern California, USA
In this demo, users will wear a sleeve of voice coils on their arm to mimic gestures used in social touch through the illusion of lateral motion. The voice coils are controlled to sequentially press into the user’s arm to create the sensation of linear travel up the arm. The duration of each actuator’s indentation and the amount of delay between the onset of indentation between adjacent actuators affects the perceived continuity and pleasantness of the interaction. Tests with this device have shown that slow indentations (1-3 Hz) with short delays between actuators creates the most continuous illusory motion.

Publisher's Version
The Haply Development Platform: A Modular, Open-Source Haptic Ecosystem That Enables Accessible Multi-platform Simulation Development
Colin Gallacher, Steve Ding, and Karon E. MacLean
Haply, Canada; University of British Columbia, Canada; McGill University, Canada
The Haply platform simplifies the development of haptic applications across various programming environments and device configurations. The platform, coupled with the haptic API (hAPI)[i], allows developers to easily experiment with various robotic setups using up to four independent actuators. The ecosystem currently provides simulation development support on Mac, PC, and Android tablets. The Haply development platform seeks to lower the barrier of entry in the creation of haptic applications, allowing developers to test out ideas quickly at a marginal development cost. [i] The hAPI was created as part of the Cyberhap project, an NSF funded collaboration with the University of British Columbia and Stanford University to explore haptic technology in STEM education

Publisher's Version
Advancing Haptic Design: Focusing on Human Interpretations of Tactile Effects
Sanya Attari, William Rihn, David Birnbaum, and Chris Ullrich
Immersion Corporation, USA
Designing haptics could be complex and time consuming but well-placed haptics can create a positive experience. To maximize design potential, haptic designers need to understand how touch makes people feel and impacts their motivation. Haptics must also match and complement the visual and audio elements to improve the user experience. This presentation shares best practices uncovered from neuroscience and behavioral studies on people’s reactions to haptics. We will present our findings on the way haptics can enhance the user experience and discuss tips for advanced haptic design, such as focus on key elements, highlight positive emotions, and emphasize movement and function.

Publisher's Version
Magnetic Levitation Haptic Interface with a Compact Array of Cylindrical Coils
Peter Berkelman
University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA
We will demonstrate haptic interaction using a magnetic levitation device of a new design, which uses low-cost components and a compact array of 12 cylindrical coils to generate forces and torques in any direction on magnets embedded in a free-floating instrument handle grasped by the user. The device allows co-located graphics when a thin display monitor is placed directly on top of the coil array, underneath the user handle. The system can display shape, texture, friction, and elasticity of 3D objects in dynamic simulations, providing rigid-body haptic feedback with no friction or backlash, and minimal inertia.

Publisher's Version
A Vibrotactile “Musical Sculpture” in VR Exploring Apparent Motion Illusions of Frequency Beating and Changing Phase
Alexis Story Crawshaw
University of Paris 8, France; University of California at Santa Barbara, USA
This artistic project presents a vibrotactile “musical sculpture” in virtual reality. While wearing a spatially-tracked head-mounted display and custom 2-channel-tactor glove, participants can visually and haptically explore a virtual, permeable sculpture suspended in 3-dimensional space, comprised of dynamic, musical-like vibrations. As a general aim, the work proposes a more abstract approach to using vibrotactility in virtual environments for artistic ends. More specifically, as a product of research-practice, this piece is a proof-of-concept of the expressive spatial potential concerning two apparent motion illusions that arise from frequency beating and changing phase. A number of informal studies investigating these illusions informed the creative choices of this work.

Publisher's Version

Mon, Mar 26, 16:30 - 18:00, Colonial Ballroom
Wed, Mar 28, 14:30 - 17:10

Back Matter

Call for Papers for AsiaHaptics


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Announcement for AsiaHaptics Student Challenge


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Call for Papers for EuroHaptics


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Call for Papers for WorldHaptics


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Call for Papers for IEEE Transactions on Haptics


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