Pneumatic Haptic Pods with Curling Internal Structures
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional haptic devices used in virtual and augmented reality constrain user dexterity and motion, detracting from the overall experience by being cumbersome.
Innovation Solution
A wearable device incorporating 'pods' with flexible, durable materials and an airtight bladder that can change pressure to transition between flexible and semi-rigid states, providing haptic stimulation without impeding user movement, and is controlled by a pneumatic device responsive to signals from a remote computing device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional haptic devices are used to provide haptic stimulation, then haptic feedback is achieved, but user dexterity and motion are constrained
Solution Approach 1:
The haptic device uses a flexible bladder that can dynamically change its rigidity state between flexible and rigid through pneumatic pressure control. This dynamic state change allows the device to provide haptic feedback when needed while maintaining flexibility and not constraining user motion during normal operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The device changes the physical state parameter of the bladder from flexible to rigid by adjusting the pneumatic pressure inside it. This parameter change enables the bladder to transition between providing haptic resistance and allowing free movement, resolving the contradiction between haptic feedback quality and user dexterity.
2Force
If a rigid structure is used to provide strong haptic feedback, then haptic stimulation intensity is improved, but flexibility and comfort are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The bladder structure dynamically transitions between flexible and rigid states based on pneumatic pressure. When pressurized, it becomes rigid to provide strong haptic feedback force; when depressurized, it returns to a flexible state for comfort and adaptability, thus resolving the contradiction between haptic intensity and flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The device uses a flexible bladder as the core haptic actuator. This flexible shell can be inflated to become rigid for providing strong haptic feedback, and deflated to become flexible for comfort, effectively resolving the contradiction between haptic force and flexibility.
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
The wearable device enables haptic stimulation that enhances user experience by allowing free movement while providing realistic tactile feedback, adaptable to various applications through different pressurized states and internal structure configurations.
Implementation Method 1
The bladder may be connected to a pneumatic device that is configured to control a pressurized state of the bladder. By changing the pressure, a respective pod can go from being flexible to having some degree of rigidity, and it is this transition that creates the haptic stimulations felt by the user.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for creating haptic stimulations is provided. The apparatus includes pod(s) coupled to a garment, each pod including: (i) an internal structure including an arrangement of a plurality of protrusions and (ii) an airtight bladder surrounding the internal structure, wherein the bladder is pneumatically coupled to a pneumatic device that is configured to control a pressurized state of the bladder. The internal structure in each pod is configured to: (i) when the respective bladder of the respective pod is in a first pressurized state, have a first degree of flexibility; and (ii) when the respective bladder is in a second pressurized state different from the first pressurized state: curve, at least partially, in a predetermined direction, and have a second degree of flexibility less than the first degree of flexibility, thereby providing a haptic stimulation to a wearer when the respective bladder is in the second pressurized state.