VR touch vest for teaching human motion tasks

Abstract

The invention relates to a VR tactile vest for teaching human motion tasks, and belongs to the technical field of vibration tactile. Comprising tactile control layers and an inner layer, the tactile control layers are respectively fixed on the inner layer, the tactile control layers are electronic components packaged by carbon fibers, and the tactile control layers comprise a power generator, a monitor, a main control module and an actuator. The system has the advantages that the main control module analyzes physical sign state data acquired by the monitor to generate a tactile feedback signal, and the actuator provides tactile feedback for a user according to the tactile feedback signal; corrective vibration tactile feedback can be provided for a plurality of joints of the body of a learner in real time, and the learner is helped to master new sports skills faster and deeper; the invention also aims to become a low-delay, all-weather and high-parallel robot motion skill teacher, and continuous and direct tactile feedback can be provided for learners when the learners learn new motion skills, so that the motion learning efficiency and accuracy are improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of vibrotactile technology, and more particularly to a VR tactile vest for teaching human motor tasks. Background Art

[0002] Whether you are rehabilitating a body, suffering from poor posture, or someone who wants to learn to dance, you all face a similar task: motor learning. Most people can benefit from a teacher who can provide real-time feedback through multiple channels: auditory (high-level behavioral guidance), visual (personally demonstrating the movements), and tactile (physical guidance of the student). While tactile feedback is the most direct form of providing movement information, it is the most difficult for teachers to provide. In addition, due to the limitations of the human body, teachers cannot provide tactile feedback to all of the student's joints at the same time.

[0003] Virtual reality (VR) environments can improve motor learning by providing augmented feedback. M. Holden et al., 2005, “Virtual environments for motor rehabilitation: Review”, note that VR displays often overlay the student’s performance with the desired action, providing an “intuitive and interpretable form … sharing the same spatial reference frame”. VR environments are useful because they emphasize the difference between the subject’s and the reference’s actions and highlight the desired trajectory within an understandable framework. E. Todorov, R. Shadmer et al., 1997, “Augmented feedback presented in a virtual environment accelerates learning of a difficult motor task”, note that VR training actually outperforms human experts in some complex tasks. F. Rose, E. Attree et al., 2000, “Training in virtual environments: Transfer to real world tasks and equivalence to realtask training”, note that VR training sometimes shows greater robustness to cognitive interference phenomena, such as being distracted by irrelevant behavior while performing a task. In addition, the paper "Route learning in a case of amnesia: A preliminary investigation into the efficacy of training in a virtual environment" published by B. Brooks' team in 1999 pointed out that VR training may be retained longer than conventional training.

[0004] Haptic actuators were originally developed as sensory replacement rather than sensory augmentation. Previous work has used tactile actuators to transmit speech information through the skin to the deaf and blind populations. Similar work has also demonstrated a scaling architecture with nearly 1,000 degrees of freedom for video tactile displays. However, touch has not yet been used to enhance our somatosensory learning systems. There is research showing that tactile feedback has great potential in neurological trauma rehabilitation. But to date, research has mainly focused on applying torque to the subjects' joints. The patients in the 1957 paper "Loss of recent memory after bilateral hippocampal lesions" by W. Scoville's team had lost the ability to form new long-term memories, but could still build new motor skills. This research hypothesized that our brain processes motor learning separately from other conscious types of learning, suggesting that we may eventually be able to train users to subconsciously accept this feedback to learn motor skills.

[0005] In virtual reality (VR), it may be easier for teachers to teach gestures or movements because teachers do not need to recreate the entire experience, but only need to guide at key points. One category of VR applications is used to train users' situational awareness, and examples of such systems include the 1997 paper "Virtual actors and avatars in a flexible user-determined scenario environment" by DM Shawver's team, which was used to train law enforcement officers to respond to hostage crises and the 1999 paper "Creating natural language interfaces to VR systems" by the SS Everett team, which was used to train users to evacuate a battleship in an emergency.

[0006] Another type of VR trains users through intelligent agents. An intelligent agent is a virtual character that interacts with users in a VR environment and trains them. Rickel and Johnson published papers "Integrating pedagogicalagents into virtual environments" and "Animated agents for procedural training in virtual reality: Perception, cognition, and motor control" in 1998, creating an interactive agent STEVE (Surge Training Expert in Virtual Environments) to assist users in machine operation training.

[0007] Ungyeon Yang et al., 2002, “Implementation and evaluation of “just follow me”: an immersive, VR-based, motion training system”, introduced the Just follow me system, which uses VR technology and a ghost metaphor to teach dance moves to the user. The ghost metaphor is a virtual reality image of the instructor (constructed from motion capture data) that is displayed in front of the trainee, with the expectation that the trainee will imitate it. K. Hachimura et al., 2004, “A prototype dance training support system with motion capture and mixed reality technologies” developed a similar system using mixed reality technology.

[0008] The current research status shows that although there are many technologies for tracking human movements and providing feedback, most systems have certain limitations, such as being highly invasive, not intuitive, or difficult to expand to full-body movement tasks. The research bottleneck lies in how to design a system that is both simple and flexible and can effectively provide intuitive feedback, while also ensuring the scalability of the system so that it can be applied to a wider range of full-body movement tasks. In addition, how to accurately track user movements and provide real-time feedback, and how to ensure the accuracy and minimal invasiveness of feedback are also major challenges facing research in this field. Summary of the invention

[0009] The present invention provides a VR tactile vest for teaching human motor tasks to solve the problem that most systems have certain limitations.

[0010] The technical solution adopted by the present invention is: comprising a tactile control layer and an inner layer, wherein each tactile control layer is fixed on the inner layer respectively, and the tactile control layer is an electronic component encapsulated by carbon fiber, including a generator, a monitor, a main control module and an actuator; The generator is mounted on a rollable flexible PCB board through a flexible weaving process, and is arranged at a part of the human body where friction and pressure are generated, so as to supply power to the monitor, the actuator and the main control module; The main control module is used to collect, store and analyze the vital sign status data acquired by the monitor, and send a tactile feedback signal to the actuator according to the analysis result; The actuator is mounted on a rollable flexible PCB board through a flexible weaving process, and is used to perform vibration tactile feedback according to a tactile feedback signal; The monitor is mounted on a rollable flexible PCB board through a flexible weaving process and is used to monitor the user's vital signs.

[0011] The generator of the present invention integrates a solar power generation device, a friction power generation device and a pressure power generation device.

[0012] The solar power generation device of the present invention includes at least one of the following: Micro integrated photovoltaic power generation device; Micro-integrated photochemical power generation device; Micro integrated light-induced power generation device.

[0013] The generator of the present invention is arranged on the shoulder and the back where friction is easily generated.

[0014] The generator of the present invention is arranged at the shoulders and joints where pressure is easily generated.

[0015] The main control module of the present invention comprises a flexible PCB board, a wireless transmission module, a microprocessor, a memory, a micro button battery, and capacitors and resistors.

[0016] The actuators of the present invention are deployed in different tactile feedback areas, including the front, back and sides of the vest, so that the VR tactile vest can form comprehensive tactile feedback when worn by the user, including at least one of the following: Vibration actuator; Micro-displacement rotary actuator; Magnetic actuator; The vibration actuator, micro-displacement rotation actuator and magnetic actuator are integrated in the actuator.

[0017] The monitor of the present invention is used to monitor the vital signs of the VR tactile vest user, including pulse, blood pressure, body temperature, heart rate, sweat level, pH value, and movement posture; the monitor includes at least one of the following: Three-axis acceleration sensor; Photoelectric monitoring sensors; Piezoelectric film sensors; Temperature sensor; The three-axis acceleration sensor, the photoelectric monitoring sensor, the piezoelectric film sensor and the temperature sensor are integrated in the monitor.

[0018] The inner layer parts of the present invention are connected together by buttons, zippers, adhesion or magnetic attraction.

[0019] The inner layer of the present invention is placed inside the outer wearable layer, and the two are connected together by Velcro, and the outer wearable layer is added with long sleeves or short sleeves.

[0020] The advantages of the present invention are: First, the present invention can provide corrective vibration tactile feedback to multiple joints of the learner's body in real time, helping the learner to master new motor skills faster and more deeply. This has important practical value for various application scenarios such as sports training, limb rehabilitation after nerve damage, dance training, and healthy posture retraining.

[0021] Furthermore, the present invention is intended to be a low-latency, all-weather, high-parallel robotic motor skills teacher that can provide learners with continuous, direct tactile feedback when learning new motor skills, thereby improving motor learning efficiency and accuracy.

[0022] Finally, the present invention can also be used in a variety of application areas, including sports training, motor rehabilitation after neurological damage, dance, healthy posture retraining, etc. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the present invention or the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0024] Figure 1 : is a schematic diagram of the internal deployment of a VR tactile vest provided by an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a tactile control layer of a VR tactile vest provided in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 Schematic diagram of a VR haptic vest actuator vibrator provided in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of expressing tactile feedback of a VR tactile vest provided in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 is an external schematic diagram of a VR tactile vest provided by an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 6 It is a modular flow chart of the motion learning feedback system of the VR tactile vest provided in an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0026] like Figure 1 , 2 As shown, it includes a tactile control layer 1 and an inner layer 2, wherein each tactile control layer 1 is fixed on the inner layer 2, and the tactile control layer 1 is an electronic component encapsulated by carbon fiber, including a generator 11, a monitor 14, a main control module 12 and an actuator 13; The generator 11 is mounted on a rollable flexible PCB board through a flexible weaving process, and is disposed at a part of the human body where friction and pressure are generated, and is used to supply power to the monitor 14, the actuator 13, and the main control module 12; The main control module 12 is used to collect, store and analyze the vital sign status data acquired by the monitor 14, and send a tactile feedback signal to the actuator 13 according to the analysis result; The actuator 13 is mounted on a rollable flexible PCB through a flexible weaving process so as to be able to fit the surface of the human body and adapt to the dynamic changes of the surface of the human body, and is used to perform vibration tactile feedback according to the tactile feedback signal; The monitor 14 is mounted on a rollable flexible PCB board through a flexible weaving process so as to be able to fit the surface of the human body and adapt to the dynamic changes of the surface of the human body, and is used to monitor the user's vital signs.

[0027] The generator 11 integrates a solar power generation device, a friction power generation device and a pressure power generation device.

[0028] The solar power generation device comprises at least one of the following: Micro integrated photovoltaic power generation device; Micro-integrated photochemical power generation device; Micro integrated light-induced power generation device.

[0029] The generator 11 is arranged on the shoulder or back where friction is likely to be generated. This is conducive to the generator sensing friction and converting friction into electrical energy; The generator 11 is arranged at the shoulders and joints where pressure is easily generated, which is conducive to the generator sensing pressure and converting pressure into electrical energy.

[0030] The VR tactile vest provided in the embodiment of the present invention uses solar energy to generate electricity for the generator 11 and sets it at the part where friction and pressure are generated, which is beneficial for the generator 11 to use solar energy to generate electricity and convert the friction and pressure generated by the human body into electrical energy.

[0031] The generator 11 can convert solar energy or light energy into electrical energy, and convert the trace mechanical energy generated by the movement and friction of the user's body parts into electrical energy, and then use the converted electrical energy to power the monitor 14, the actuator 13 and the main control module 12, so as to realize the intelligent autonomous power supply of the VR tactile vest. The micro friction power generation device is used to convert the induced friction force into electrical energy using the principle of friction power generation. The micro pressure power generation device is used to convert the induced pressure into electrical energy using the principle of pressure power generation.

[0032] The VR tactile vest provided in the embodiment of the present invention obtains electrical energy through various power generation devices, which is conducive to realizing intelligent and autonomous power supply of the VR tactile vest.

[0033] The main control module 12 includes a flexible PCB board, a wireless transmission module, a microprocessor, a memory, a micro button battery, and capacitors and resistors.

[0034] The actuators 13 are deployed in different tactile feedback areas, including the front, back and sides of the vest, so that the VR tactile vest can form comprehensive tactile feedback when worn by the user, such as Figure 4 As shown, the user can experience tactile feedback in at least 8 directions 21-28, including at least one of the following: Vibration actuator; Micro-displacement rotary actuator; Magnetic actuator; The vibration actuator, micro-displacement rotation actuator and magnetic actuator are integrated into the actuator 13 .

[0035] The vibration actuator is used to provide the user with tactile feedback in the form of vibration, the micro-displacement rotation actuator is used to provide the user with tactile feedback in the form of micro-displacement rotation, and the magnetic actuator is used to provide the user with tactile feedback in the form of striking.

[0036] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the VR tactile vest actuator vibrator provided in an embodiment of the present invention. The actuator 13 uses a Lilypad vibration motor, and its actual size is based on a 1-yuan coin. According to the instructions of the main control system, the actuator 13 executes an open or close pulse instruction.

[0037] The VR haptic vest provided in the embodiment of the present invention realizes tactile feedback to the user through various actuators, realizes the somatosensory interaction between the VR haptic vest and the user, and improves the user's experience.

[0038] The monitor 14 is used to monitor the vital signs of the VR tactile vest user, including pulse, blood pressure, body temperature, heart rate, sweat level, pH value, and movement posture. In this embodiment, a WiTilts three-axis acceleration sensor is used. The monitor includes at least one of the following: Three-axis acceleration sensor; Photoelectric monitoring sensors; Piezoelectric film sensors; Temperature sensor; The three-axis acceleration sensor, the photoelectric monitoring sensor, the piezoelectric film sensor and the temperature sensor are integrated in the monitor 14 .

[0039] The VR tactile vest provided in the embodiment of the present invention monitors the user's vital sign status data through various micro sensors.

[0040] The three-axis acceleration sensor can fully and accurately reflect the motion properties of an object and is used to monitor the user's motion posture.

[0041] Photoelectric monitoring sensors are sensors that monitor vital signs based on optical principles, such as blood oxygen and pulse sensors, which measure blood oxygen and pulse through infrared light waves.

[0042] The piezoelectric film sensor is used to monitor the wearer's vital signs data, such as heart rate, breathing, etc. The temperature sensor is used to monitor the wearer's body temperature.

[0043] The monitor 14 sends the acquired user vital sign status data to the main control module 12. The main control module 12 uses a microprocessor and a memory to collect, store and analyze the user vital sign status data, and generates a feedback signal based on the analysis results. The feedback signal may include information such as feedback duration, feedback form and feedback strength, and the feedback signal is sent to the actuator 13.

[0044] The various parts of the inner layer 2 are connected together by buttons, zippers, adhesives or magnets.

[0045] The inner layer 2 is placed inside the outer wearable layer 3, and the two are connected together by Velcro 4. The VR tactile vest can be disassembled and washed. The outer wearable layer can be customized according to the seasonal weather, and can be customized as long sleeves or short sleeves.

[0046] The VR tactile vest looks like this when worn from the front of the user. Figure 5 shown.

[0047] The outer wearable layer of the VR tactile vest is made of pure cotton, fiber, polyester and other materials. This makes it easy to disassemble the second layer of the vest for washing, solving the problem that the built-in electronic components of the smart vest cannot be easily disassembled, cleaning and disinfection are inconvenient, and long-term use is unhygienic.

[0048] Figure 6 A modular flow chart of a motion learning feedback system for a VR tactile vest provided in an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 6An overview of the tracking system, the execution feedback system, and the main control system is shown. The tracking system provides the user's current state. The main control system calculates appropriate feedback based on the user's state and passes it to the execution feedback system. The user changes his state based on the feedback information, and the system repeats until the user completes the movement task.

[0049] The tracking and monitoring system described in the present invention uses a Vicon MX system running Vicon Nexus software to track users to complete configuration tasks. The present invention uses sensors WiTils as tracking sensors for user motion trajectory tasks. WiTilts contains a three-axis acceleration sensor. These sensors measure acceleration along three mutually orthogonal directions and use RN-41 Bluetooth modules to wirelessly transmit sensor readings over a serial Bluetooth connection.

[0050] The main control system of the present invention communicates with the feedback motor through a communication device. The present invention uses two communication devices in the application: an Arduino BT microcontroller and an XBee radio frequency module. The controller is a C++ application running on a Windows workstation.

[0051] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a tactile control layer of a VR tactile vest provided in an embodiment of the present invention. It is worth noting that: Figure 2 yes Figure 6 A specific embodiment of the feedback execution system, that is, the tactile control layer of the VR tactile vest is a specific embodiment of the feedback execution system part in the motion learning feedback system of the VR tactile vest.

[0052] Although some specific embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail by way of example, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the above examples are for illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the above embodiments may be modified without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. The scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A VR tactile vest for teaching human motor tasks, characterized by: It includes a tactile control layer and an inner layer, wherein each tactile control layer is fixed on the inner layer respectively, and the tactile control layer is an electronic component encapsulated by carbon fiber, including a generator, a monitor, a main control module and an actuator; The generator is mounted on a rollable flexible PCB board through a flexible weaving process, and is arranged at a part of the human body where friction and pressure are generated, so as to supply power to the monitor, the actuator and the main control module; The main control module is used to collect, store and analyze the vital sign status data acquired by the monitor, and send a tactile feedback signal to the actuator according to the analysis result; The actuator is mounted on a rollable flexible PCB board through a flexible weaving process, and is used to perform vibration tactile feedback according to a tactile feedback signal; The monitor is mounted on a rollable flexible PCB board through a flexible weaving process and is used to monitor the user's vital signs.

2. A VR tactile vest for teaching human motor tasks according to claim 1, characterized in that: The generator integrates a solar power generation device, a friction power generation device and a pressure power generation device.

3. A VR tactile vest for teaching human motor tasks according to claim 2, characterized in that: The solar power generation device comprises at least one of the following: Micro integrated photovoltaic power generation device; Micro-integrated photochemical power generation device; Micro integrated light-induced power generation device.

4. A VR tactile vest for teaching human motor tasks according to claim 2, characterized in that: The generator is arranged on the shoulders and back where friction is easily generated.

5. A VR tactile vest for teaching human motor tasks according to claim 2, characterized in that: The generator is arranged at the shoulders and joints where pressure is easily generated.

6. A VR tactile vest for teaching human motor tasks according to claim 1, characterized in that: The main control module includes a flexible PCB board, a wireless transmission module, a microprocessor, a memory, a micro button battery, and capacitors and resistors.

7. A VR tactile vest for teaching human motor tasks according to claim 1, characterized in that: The actuators are deployed in different tactile feedback areas, including the front, back, and sides of the vest, so that the VR tactile vest forms comprehensive tactile feedback when worn by the user, including at least one of the following: Vibration actuator; Micro-displacement rotary actuator; Magnetic actuator; The vibration actuator, micro-displacement rotation actuator and magnetic actuator are integrated in the actuator.

8. A VR tactile vest for teaching human motor tasks according to claim 1, characterized in that: The monitor is used to monitor the vital signs of the VR tactile vest user, including pulse, blood pressure, body temperature, heart rate, sweat level, pH value, and movement posture; the monitor includes at least one of the following: Three-axis acceleration sensor; Photoelectric monitoring sensors; Piezoelectric film sensors; Temperature sensor; The three-axis acceleration sensor, the photoelectric monitoring sensor, the piezoelectric film sensor and the temperature sensor are integrated in the monitor.

9. A VR tactile vest for teaching human motor tasks according to claim 1, characterized in that: The inner layer parts are connected together by buttons, zippers, adhesives or magnetic suction.

10. A VR tactile vest for teaching human motor tasks according to claim 1 or 9, characterized in that: The inner layer is placed inside the outer wearable layer, and the two are connected together by Velcro, and the outer wearable layer is increased with long sleeves or short sleeves.

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