Skin Vibration Sensor Research Articles

Evaluation of Skin Squeakiness Feeling with a Wearable Skin Vibration Sensor

Evaluation of Skin Squeakiness Feeling with a Wearable Skin Vibration Sensor

Wearable Artificial Fingers With Skin Vibration and Multi-Axis Force Sensors.

Tactile sensations are based on stimulation elicited on the skin through mechanical interactions between the skin and an object. Hence, it is important to consider skin properties as well as objects. In this article, we aim to develop wearable artificial fingers for quantitative evaluations reflecting individual differences in human fingers. In a previous study, a wearable skin vibration sensor was attached to artificial fingers and it was demonstrated that the skin vibrations differed according to the dimension of surface ridge and the artificial finger is useful for roughness evaluation. This article improved the artificial finger to measure the contact force and friction in addition to the skin vibration. A small three-axis force sensor was embedded into the base of the finger, and normal and friction forces were estimated via a multi-regression method. Furthermore, artificial fingers with different hardness were prepared and six different textures were used to investigate tactile evaluation. Experimental results showed that the artificial fingers could measure normal and friction forces along with the skin vibration and were useful to evaluate textures. Resulting distributions of the vibration intensity and friction coefficient were different for the soft and hard artificial fingers, indicating the complex influence of skin properties on tactile sensations.

Vibrotactile Feedback System From the Fingertip to the Temples for Perceptual Enhancement of Contracture Palpation.

Contractures are generally assessed by a physician or physical therapist through palpation. However, contracture palpation requires skill and experience. The frictional vibration, which has a pulse-like vibration due to sliding disturbances around the affected area during palpation, is important in assessing the degree of contracture progression. This paper aims to enhance the perceptual sensitivity of frictional vibration for contracture palpation using a vibrotactile feedback system. We previously proposed an evaluation system for palpation with a wearable skin vibration sensor that detects skin-propagated vibration, allowing touch with a bare fingertip. In this paper, we propose the vibrotactile feedback system that presents the tactile information of the fingertip detected by the wearable tactile sensor to the temples with a vibrotactile display. A stimulator that gives vibrations similar to those during the palpation, which include pulse-like vibration and small vibration, was assembled. Then, psychophysical experiments on the vibrotactile feedback system were conducted using this stimulator. The results showed that the detection sensitivity of the pulse-like vibration was significantly enhanced with the feedback.

28pm1-E-4 皮膚振動方向がウェアラブル皮膚振動センサの出力に及ぼす影響

This paper investigates the output of the wearable skin vibration sensor that authors have developed. The sensor detects skin-propagated vibration. In the experiment, normal and shear vibrations are given to the fingertip and the sensor output and input acceleration are collected to obtain the transfer function of the sensor for each vibration. Result shows that the sensor output is comparatively similar on normal and shear vibrations.

1A2-B01 指装着型皮膚振動センサ(第二報) : 圧力および面積の影響(触覚と力覚(2))

1A2-B01 指装着型皮膚振動センサ(第二報) : 圧力および面積の影響(触覚と力覚(2))