Wearable Dual-Frequency Vibrotactile System for Restoring Force and Stiffness Perception

IEEE Trans Haptics. 2020 Jan-Mar;13(1):191-196. doi: 10.1109/TOH.2020.2969162. Epub 2020 Jan 23.

Abstract

Recently, there has been substantial progress in the mechatronic design and myoelectric control of active prostheses. However, a significant unmet need is the lack of sensory feedback in commercial prostheses for upper-limb amputees. The lack of sensory perception impacts on the control performance and embodiment, determining relatively high rejection rates. Previous research has been conducted to evaluate various non-invasive substitutional sensory channels, mainly to regenerate haptic perception. However, providing sensory channels for stiffness perception has been much less explored. In this short paper, we propose a non-invasive wearable sensory armband, named vibrotactile frequency modulation (V-FM) system. Using the V-FM, we implement a closed-loop myocontrol system with force and stiffness perception. A user study was conducted based on a repetitive two-forced alternative choice discrimination test in six able-bodied participants. The study was designed according to the method of constant stimuli. Results showed that using the V-FM armband, the participants recovered sensation comparable (in terms of difference threshold) to the natural stiffness perception. This demonstrated the potential of the proposed V-FM armband in restoring haptic and stiffness perception non-invasively.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Biomechanical Phenomena
  • Electromyography
  • Feedback, Sensory*
  • Female
  • Hand / physiology
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Physical Stimulation
  • Prosthesis Design*
  • Surface Properties
  • Touch Perception / physiology*
  • Vibration
  • Wearable Electronic Devices*
  • Young Adult