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

Wenying Qiu; Junwen Zhong; Tao Jiang; Zhaoyang Li; Mingze Yao; Zhichun Shao; Qilong Cheng; Jiaming Liang; Dongkai Wang; Yande Peng; Peisheng He; David B Bogy; Min Zhang; Xiaohao Wang; Liwei Lin

doi:10.1016/j.bios.2021.113616

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

Biosens Bioelectron. 2021 Dec 1:193:113616. doi: 10.1016/j.bios.2021.113616. Epub 2021 Sep 8.

Authors

Wenying Qiu¹, Junwen Zhong², Tao Jiang¹, Zhaoyang Li³, Mingze Yao⁴, Zhichun Shao⁴, Qilong Cheng⁵, Jiaming Liang¹, Dongkai Wang¹, Yande Peng⁴, Peisheng He⁴, David B Bogy⁶, Min Zhang⁷, Xiaohao Wang⁸, Liwei Lin⁹

Affiliations

¹ Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, 518055, China; Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA; Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA; Tsinghua Shenzhen International School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
² Department of Electromechanical Engineering, Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, University of Macau, Macau SAR, 999078, China; Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA; Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA. Electronic address: junwenzhong@um.edu.mo.
³ Department of Electromechanical Engineering, Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, University of Macau, Macau SAR, 999078, China.
⁴ Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA; Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
⁵ Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
⁶ Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA. Electronic address: dbogy@berkeley.edu.
⁷ Tsinghua Shenzhen International School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, 518055, China. Electronic address: zhang.min@sz.tsinghua.edu.cn.
⁸ Tsinghua Shenzhen International School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
⁹ Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, 518055, China; Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA; Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA. Electronic address: lwlin@berkeley.edu.

PMID: 34543862
DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2021.113616

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 V. 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 h. 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.

Keywords: Haptics feedback; Human-machine interface; Soft actuator; Wearable electronics.

MeSH terms

Biosensing Techniques*
Equipment Design
Feedback
Fingers
Humans
User-Computer Interface*