Virtual thermal feedback system using thermal conductivity

In this paper, a virtual system that can convey thermal stimulus to the human hand is introduced. Specifically, a heat transfer model considering the thermal conductivity of various materials is established for realistic thermal stimulus. To build up the heat transfer model, a series of experiments are conducted by measuring real cases using resistance temperature detector sensors. Also, the model is validated by comparing the theoretical value with the experimental results. The temperature comparison between the heat transfer model and sensing outputs is in good agreement. Furthermore, the established heat transfer model is implemented to a flexible thermoelectric device to demonstrate realistic thermal feedback to a user in the virtual environment.