Pilot Study on the Development of a New Wearable Tactile Feedback Device for Welding Skills Training

Abstract

This study aimed to develop a new wearable tactile feedback device for application in a welder training system. This system consists of a head-mount display with its controller, a data measurement system, an open-source microcontroller board, a motion sensing input device, and the proposed wearable tactile feedback device, which is realized using a reel-to-reel microchip mounting system on thick-knitted textiles. The device consisted of a vibration motor with a flexible circuit, and its effect on the welding work of trainees was evaluated. The device provided two types of vibration stimuli to the user’s forearm, based on supervised data derived from the hand motions of an expert welder during a welding task. We performed welding training trials to determine the efficacy of the tactile feedback device and evaluated its effects on the welding speed performance. Three beginners, who were randomly allocated into training and control groups, evaluated the welding speed generated using the tactile feedback device. The training group was required to provide the perceived subjective data (ease of motion), while the welder performed welding using the tactile feedback device. The results suggested that the tactile feedback device enabled the easy understanding of the operating welding velocity. In conclusion, the tactile feedback device influenced the learning process of the beginners by exploiting general information from manuals on welding operation.