Haptic Vest Inflatable Pouches Large-Area Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional haptic devices primarily focus on fingertips and hands, limiting their applications due to small surface areas, and struggle to provide effective vibrotactile feedback on larger body surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A wearable haptic vest system with inflatable pouches, solenoid valves, and integrated sensors that use a neural network to provide large-area haptic feedback by inflating or deflating pouches based on haptic interaction profiles, allowing for social-physical haptic interaction and virtual touch simulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If haptic devices focus on fingertips and hands with high mechanoreceptor density, then haptic feedback precision is improved, but the surface area for haptic interaction is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The haptic vest divides the large surface area into multiple discrete inflatable pouches distributed across different body regions. Each pouch acts as an independent haptic actuator, enabling localized feedback while collectively covering a large body surface area. This segmentation allows the system to maintain precision through individual pouch control while achieving large-area coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from two-dimensional fingertip/hand haptic devices to three-dimensional body-wide haptic feedback by distributing pouches across the torso and other body regions. This dimensional expansion from localized extremities to the entire body surface enables large-area haptic interaction while maintaining feedback precision through spatial distribution.
2Ease of operation
If distributed embedded actuators are used to provide vibrotactile feedback, then haptic feedback is localized to small portions of the body, but the complexity of the device increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces complex distributed embedded vibratory actuators with simpler inflatable pneumatic pouches. Each pouch uses basic pneumatic principles to generate haptic feedback through inflation and deflation, eliminating the need for complex motorized actuators, power electronics, and control circuits at each location. This pneumatic approach maintains localized feedback capability while significantly reducing overall device complexity.
3Loss of information
If sensors collect pressure sensing values to train a neural network, then haptic interaction profiles are improved, but the amount of data processing and training time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary data collection during normal vest operation, accumulating pressure sensing values from sensors before formal neural network training begins. This preliminary action allows the system to gather sufficient training data in advance, reducing the actual training time when profile generation is needed. The sensor data is continuously collected and stored, preparing the dataset beforehand for efficient model training.
Solution Approach 2:
The haptic vest is designed to automatically collect sensor data and train its own neural network without requiring external intervention or manual data labeling. The system self-services by using its own operational data to improve its haptic interaction profiles, eliminating the need for separate data collection phases or manual annotation processes that would increase training time.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables enhanced haptic perception and simulation of touch, pressure, and feedback on larger body areas, improving social-physical interaction and virtual reality experiences by mimicking real-world tactile sensations.
Implementation Method 1
A wearable haptic vest system with inflatable pouches, solenoid valves, and integrated sensors that use a neural network to provide large-area haptic feedback by inflating or deflating pouches
Implementation Method 2
an air pressure regulator that is connected to the actuators through solenoid valves to inflate the inflatable pouches
Implementation Method 3
a plurality of sensors that are integrated within the vest that are configured to collect pressure sensing values that pertain to pressure that is applied to particular portions of the vest
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for social-physical haptic interaction that include receiving sensor data from a plurality of sensors that are disposed within a haptic vest. The system and method also include training a neural network with at least one haptic interaction profile based on the sensor data. The system and method additionally include analyzing at least one haptic interaction profile during execution of at least one haptic application. The system and method further include electronically controlling the haptic vest to provide haptic feedback during the execution of at least one haptic application that is based on at least one haptic interaction profile.