Remote transmission of multiple tactile properties

Abstract

To transmit realistic tactile textures remotely, we need to represent multiple tactile properties and to compensate communication delays. This chapter introduces a real-time remote transmission system that can deliver multiple tactile properties using a master-slave robot system. The author discusses required tactile properties to represent texture feelings and potential ways to transmit them through a robotic master-slave system in real-time. Three tactile properties are introduced: roughness, friction, and softness, which are associated with physical properties such as wavelengths, friction coefficients, and spring constants. Vibrotactile stimulation methods proposed by the authors can transmit the multiple tactile properties. Synchronization between hand exploration and tactile stimulation is also necessary to transmit natural texture feelings. The presented methods compensate time delays between the master and the slave by generating vibrotactile stimuli with local models on the master side. Tactile stimulations are synthesized in real time with the tactile properties transmitted from the slave side. Discrimination experiments of materials showed the feasibility of the proposed tactile transmission system.