A Wearable Haptic Device for the Hand with Interchangeable End-Effectors

Lisheng Huang, Marco Ferro, Monica Malvezzi, Domenico Prattichizzo, Paolo Robuffo Giordano, Francesco Chinello, Claudio Pacchierotti

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaperJournal articleResearchpeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This article presents a 4-degrees-of-freedom (4-DoF) hand wearable haptic device for Virtual Reality (VR). It is designed to support different end-effectors, that can be easily exchanged so as to provide a wide range of haptic sensations. The device is composed of a static upper body, secured to the back of the hand, and the (changeable) end-effector, placed in contact with the palm. The two parts of the device are connected by two articulated arms, actuated by four servo motors housed on the upper body and along the arms. The article summarizes the design and kinematics of the wearable haptic device and presents a position control scheme able to actuate a broad range of end-effectors. As a proof of concept, we present and evaluate three representative end-effectors during interactions in VR, rendering the sensation of interacting (E1) with rigid slanted surfaces and sharp edges having different orientations, (E2) with curved surfaces having different curvatures, and (E3) with soft surfaces having different stiffness characteristics. A few additional end-effector designs are discussed. A human-subjects evaluation in immersive VR shows the broad applicability of the device, able to render rich interactions with a diverse set of virtual objects.

Original languageEnglish
JournalIEEE Transactions on Haptics
Volume17
Issue2
Pages (from-to)129-139
Number of pages11
ISSN1939-1412
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Apr 2024

Keywords

  • Arms
  • End effectors
  • Haptic interfaces
  • Human-computer interaction
  • Kinematics
  • Potentiometers
  • Rendering (computer graphics)
  • Servomotors
  • Virtual Reality
  • Wearable haptics
  • human-computer interaction
  • virtual reality

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