Dispositivos Electrónicos para Comunicación Táctil con el Pie

In this paper, we present further development of a wearable electronic tactile display that stimulates the mechanoreceptors in the foot sole with vibrations. We present a technical overview of the system and, following the lessons learned from a previous prototype, we show that it is possible to encode information in fewer actuators while reducing the system’s cost and overall complexity. The proposed prototype also exhibits a simple but effective mechanical design for ensuring an optimal transmission of vibrations to the skin that combined with optimized tactile patterns lead to significant improvements in perception. Perceptual results confirm the pertinence of these advances and demonstrate initial feasibility of the device.