Skin Stimulation Force Presentation for Motion Sense Without Platforms
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing motion platforms used in virtual reality and simulators are limited by their mechanical characteristics, are large and expensive, and cannot be easily attached to existing chairs, restricting the range and expressiveness of the motion they can reproduce, and fail to provide a realistic force sense without actual movement.
Innovation Solution
A force sense presentation device that stimulates the skin with a dynamic quantity distribution using a plurality of stimulation elements and a controller to generate a target force sense, allowing for a self-kinesthetic experience without physical movement, including the use of strain energy density distribution and rotational movements to mimic motions like driving or riding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a motion platform is used to reproduce actual motion, then a vestibular sense and force sense are realized, but the device becomes large and expensive with limited expressible motion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical motion platform system with a skin stimulation system that uses multiple actuators to apply controlled forces directly to the user's skin. This substitution eliminates the need for large mechanical platforms while achieving force sense presentation through direct cutaneous stimulation, thereby reducing device size and cost while maintaining or improving force sense fidelity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a simplified copy of the motion experience by stimulating the skin with force patterns that mimic the dynamic quantity distribution experienced during actual motion. Instead of reproducing the entire mechanical motion system, it copies the essential sensory input through controlled skin stimulation, achieving the same perceptual effect with a much simpler device
2Manufacturing precision
If multiple stimulation elements are used to form dynamic quantity distribution, then spatially continuous force sense is achieved, but the control complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the skin surface into multiple discrete stimulation zones, each controlled by an independent stimulation element. By segmenting the continuous skin surface into manageable discrete regions, the system can achieve spatially continuous force sense through coordinated control of individual elements, while the modular segmentation makes the control problem more tractable
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic control of multiple stimulation elements where the activation state of each element changes over time based on the desired dynamic quantity distribution. This dynamic coordination allows the system to maintain spatial continuity while adapting to changing force sense requirements, with the controller managing temporal and spatial patterns of stimulation
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 the presentation of a realistic force sense that simulates motion, such as driving or riding, by forming dynamic quantity distributions on the skin, providing a cost-effective and compact solution that can be integrated with existing seating, enhancing the sense of reality without the need for large and expensive motion platforms.
Implementation Method 1
The stimulation element may stimulate the skin by rotational movement. Hereinafter, such a stimulation element may be referred to as a 'rotational stimulation element'.
Data Source
AI summary
A force sense presentation device that presents a force sense force by forming a dynamic quantity distribution on a skin of a person includes a plurality of stimulation elements and a controller. Each of the plurality of stimulation elements stimulates the skin of the person. The controller controls the plurality of stimulation elements such that a dynamic quantity distribution for generating a target force sense is formed on the skin. An interval between the adjacent stimulation elements is an interval enabling presentation of a spatially continuous force sense. The force sense generates a self-kinesthetic sense of the person.