Communicating through Touch: Macro Fiber Composites for Tactile Stimulation on the Abdomen

2018 
Research into sensory substitution systems has expanded, as alternative senses are utilized in real-time to afford object recognition or spatial understanding. Tactile stimulation has long shown promise as a communicatory strategy when applied unobtrusively to the redundant surface areas of the skin. Here, a novel belt, integrating a matrix of macro fiber composites, is purposed to deliver tactile stimuli to the abdomen. The design and development of the belt is presented and a systematic experimental study is conducted to analyze the impact of frequency and duty cycle. The belt is a beta precursor to a soft haptic feedback device that will enable situational awareness and obstacle avoidance through the localization of tactile stimulation relative to a body-centric frame of reference in a local environment.
    • Correction
    • Source
    • Cite
    • Save
    • Machine Reading By IdeaReader
    54
    References
    6
    Citations
    NaN
    KQI
    []