New array measures vibrations across the skin, may help engineers design optimal, wearable tactile displays.
In the near future, a buzz in your belt or a pulse from your jacket may give you instructions on how to navigate your surroundings.
Think of it as tactile Morse code: vibrations from a wearable, GPS-linked device that tell you to turn right or left, or stop, depending on the pattern of pulses you feel. Such a device could free drivers from having to look at maps, and could also serve as a tactile guide for the visually and hearing impaired.
Lynette Jones, a senior research scientist in MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, designs wearable tactile displays. Through her work, she’s observed that the skin is a sensitive — though largely untapped — medium for communication.
“If you compare the skin to the retina, you have about the same number of sensory receptors, you just have them over almost two square meters of space, unlike the eye where it’s all concentrated in an extremely small area,” Jones says. “The skin is generally as useful as a very acute area. It’s just that you need to disperse the information that you’re presenting.”
Knowing just how to disperse tactile information across the skin is tricky. For instance, people may be much more sensitive to stimuli on areas like the hand, as opposed to the forearm, and may respond best to certain patterns of vibrations. Such information on skin responsiveness could help designers determine the best configuration of motors in a display, given where on the skin a device would be worn.
Now Jones has built an array that precisely tracks a motor’s vibrations through skin in three dimensions. The array consists of eight miniature accelerometers and a single pancake motor — a type of vibrating motor used in cellphones. She used the array to measure motor vibrations in three locations: the palm of the hand, the forearm and the thigh. From her studies with eight healthy participants, Jones found that a motor’s mechanical vibrations through skin drop off quickly in all three locations, within 8 millimeters from where the vibrations originated.
Jones also gauged participants’ perception of vibrations, fitting them with a 3-by-3 array of pancake motors in these three locations on the body. While skin generally stopped vibrating 8 millimeters from the source, most people continued to perceive the vibrations as far away as 24 millimeters.
When participants were asked to identify specific locations of motors within the array, they were much more sensitive on the palm than on the forearm or thigh. But in all three locations, people were better at picking out vibrations in the four corners of the array, versus the inner motors, leading Jones to posit that perhaps people use the edges of their limbs to localize vibrations and other stimuli.
“For a lot of sensory modalities, you have to work out what it is people can process, as one of the dictates for how you design,” says Jones, whose results will appear in the journal IEEE Transactions on Haptics. “There’s no point in making things much more compact, which may be a desirable feature from an engineering point of view, but from a human-use point of view, doesn’t make a difference.”
Mapping good vibrations
In addition to measuring skin’s sensitivity to vibrations, Jones and co-author Katherine Sofia ’12 found that skin has a strong effect on motor vibrations. The researchers compared a pancake motor’s frequency of vibrations when mounted on a rigid structure or on more compliant skin. They found that in general, skin reduced a motor’s vibrations by 28 percent, with the forearm and thigh having a slightly stronger dampening effect than the palm of the hand.
The skin’s damping of motor vibrations is significant, Jones says, if engineers plan to build tactile displays that incorporate different frequencies of vibrations. For instance, the difference between two motors — one slightly faster than the other — may be indistinguishable in certain parts of the skin. Likewise, two motors spaced a certain distance apart may be differentiable in one area but not another.
“Should I have eight motors, or is four enough that 90 percent of the time, I’ll know that when this one’s on, it’s this one and not that one?” Jones says. “We’re answering those sorts of questions in the context of what information you want to present using a device.”
Roberta Klatzky, a professor of psychology at Carnegie Mellon University, says that measurements taken by Jones’ arrays can be used to set up displays in which the location of a stimulus — for example, a pattern to convey a letter — is important.
“A major challenge is to enable people to tell the difference between patterns applied to the skin as, for example, blind people do when reading Braille,” says Klatzky, who specializes in the study of spatial cognition. “Lynette’s work sets up a methodology and potential guidelines for effective pattern displays.”
The Latest Bing News on:
Wearable tactile displays
- Lava Prowatch ZN review: a promising starton April 26, 2024 at 7:59 pm
In this Lava Prowatch ZN review, we evaluate the real-world performance and value of the smartwatch. Check it out.
- Rabbit R1 unboxing: My first impressions of the $199 AI gadgeton April 25, 2024 at 3:02 pm
Rabbit just released its first batch of R1 devices to consumers. Here's what comes in the box and other details you might've missed.
- From new Xbox games to AR glasses, here are my favorite things I saw at my very first GDCon April 21, 2024 at 9:01 am
GDC 2024 is the first time I've ever been able to attend (this or any other major convention), and it was an unforgettable experience. I've written extensively around GDC since I came home, but I ...
- What Are Haptics on iPhone Devices and Why Do They Exist?on April 11, 2024 at 8:16 am
Ever wonder how flat cell phone keys vibrate to let you know you've pressed a button? It's called haptics, and you can use it for lots more than just phones.
- 75+ Fun Feather Nail Designs and Ideason February 16, 2024 at 11:32 am
Infusing your nails with vibrant colors can transform the feather design from classic to captivating, offering an artistic display that’s sure to draw ... seem to lift right off your nails, providing ...
- Page settingson November 21, 2023 at 2:49 pm
Finding the perfect gift for your most cherished friends and family is deceivingly complicated. Not only do you want to buy them something that conveys how much they mean to you, but you also want to ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Wearable tactile displays
[google_news title=”” keyword=”wearable tactile displays” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
The Latest Bing News on:
Tactile displays
- Forget the Prius, these plug-in hybrids bring out your inner race car driveron April 26, 2024 at 4:59 pm
Under the hood of the car lies a plug-in hybrid powertrain consisting of a four liter twin-turbo V8 engine mated to an 189 horsepower electric motor. Together, the Urus makes 789 horsepower and 590 ...
- Supernote Nomad vs. ReMarkable 2: Which one has the write stuff?on April 26, 2024 at 2:01 pm
When it comes to a paper-like writing experience, nothing can beat the Supernote Nomad and the reMarkable 2, but which one is right for you?
- The Kobo Libra Colour is the color screen e-reader we’ve been waiting foron April 26, 2024 at 6:48 am
The Kobo Libra Colour brings color to the black and white world of e-readers, so we had to test it to see if it’s right for you.
- This Lenovo ThinkPad laptop with 32GB of RAM is 35% off right nowon April 26, 2024 at 6:22 am
Lenovo has a great deal on the Lenovo ThinkPad T16 which is perfect for business users. Here's what you need to know.
- Meghan Markle showing a 'different' side - expert spots small change in Harry relationshipon April 26, 2024 at 4:53 am
EXCLUSIVE: Meghan Markle has been investing in her female friendships recently, according to a body language expert who analysed recent snaps.
- Alienware M18 R2 Gaming Laptop Review: When Speed Is of the Essenceon April 25, 2024 at 1:12 pm
HX and GeForce RTX 4060, while the rest start with a Core i9-14900HX and/or RTX 4070, along with the same display as the m18 or better. You can configure the m18 R2 with up to the i9-14900HX, RTX 4090 ...
- TCL 50 XL 5G First Impressions: So Many Features for a $160 Phoneon April 25, 2024 at 12:53 pm
TCL ships the 50 XL with Android 14, 128GB of storage, a 5,010mAh battery and -- in another rarity for phones in this budget price range -- 1,080p resolution on its 6.78-inch display. The 6.78-inch ...
- 10 Best LEGO Sets in 2024on April 24, 2024 at 7:50 am
Of all the many LEGO sets on the market, from a variety of price points, these are our picks for the best of the bunch.
- iPhone 16 and 16 Pro: What to Expect From the 2024 iPhoneson April 24, 2024 at 6:01 am
The 2024 iPhones will include the iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max and Apple is rumored to be focusing heavily on AI on this years iPhones. The ...
- GPO Display Q&A on a Project-Based Approach to Videowall Installson April 23, 2024 at 6:04 am
Sean Driscoll of GPO Display speaks on "the GPO Difference" and how it ensures successful installations for integrators and clients alike.
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Tactile displays
[google_news title=”” keyword=”tactile displays” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]