From Localized Shearing to Localized Slippage Perception

Abstract

We have proposed a novel haptic display that can generate localized shearing pattern on human fingertip, resulting in the partial slip perception. The device comprises of a bundle of stiff pins resting on a specially designed concave base whose planar movement is controlled by a two-DOF (degree of freedom) linear stage. These pins’ free ends, when making contact with human fingertip surface, can displace horizontally and partially. The novel characteristic of this design is that the pattern of localized slippage could be generated by altering the geometric shape of the supporting base and the number of haptic pins. We introduced a dynamic model for investigation of mechanical response of stress or strain on human fingertip under operation of the proposed haptic device. By variation of the device’s design, it is possible to study the sense of partial slippage on human fingertip under experimental conditions such as applied force, sliding velocity, direction on slip perception of volunteering subjects, using VAS (visual analog scale). The results presented in this paper may help assess human slip perception for the development of haptic display.