Carlos Carrasquillo, Aakash Bajpai, Divya Iyengar, Killian Collins, Anirban Mazumdar, Aaron J Young
{"title":"Enhancing Human Navigation Ability Using Force-Feedback from a Lower-Limb Exoskeleton.","authors":"Carlos Carrasquillo, Aakash Bajpai, Divya Iyengar, Killian Collins, Anirban Mazumdar, Aaron J Young","doi":"10.1109/TOH.2025.3533974","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/TOH.2025.3533974","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Humans operating in dynamic environments with limited visibility are susceptible to collisions with moving objects, occupational hazards, and/or other agents, which can result in personal injuries or fatalities. Most existing research has focused on using vibrotactile cues to address this challenge. In this work, we propose a fundamentally new approach that utilizes variable impedance on an active exoskeleton to guide humans away from hazards and towards safe areas. This framework combines artificial potential fields with current impedance-based theories of exoskeleton control to provide a comprehensive navigational system that is intuitive for human operators. First, we present the mathematical framework to encode information about the locations of obstacles and the safest direction in which to move. Next, we optimize controller parameters in a series of humansubject experiments. Finally, we evaluate the framework in virtual reality on a set of randomly generated obstacle fields in environments where vision is either fully or partially occluded. Our results suggest that the exoskeleton provides significant separation from obstacles and reduced collisions compared to vision alone in conditions where visibility was limited to less than 1.3 m. Our work demonstrates that force-feedback in parallel with a human can improve overall navigation ability in low visibility conditions.</p>","PeriodicalId":13215,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Haptics","volume":"PP ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143541862","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Calibration and Closed-Loop Control Improve Performance of a Force Feedback Device","authors":"Jun Zhang;Wenjie Shen;Liuchen Chen;Aiguo Song","doi":"10.1109/TOH.2025.3531471","DOIUrl":"10.1109/TOH.2025.3531471","url":null,"abstract":"Interaction accuracy and transparency of force feedback devices (FFDs) are crucial in applications like remote surgery, where high force feedback accuracy (FFA) ensures the safety of delicate procedures. However, few studies have introduced the force calibration of FFDs, especially addressing the low FFA issue in high dynamic motions. This paper proposes a calibration method and a closed-loop control (CLC) strategy for an FFD to enhance its FFA. Tailored calibration models were developed by decoupling factors causing feedback force errors. The CLC was achieved by modeling the FFD's kinematics, statics, and dynamics and integrating force and current information. Experimental results show that the integration of the models and CLC significantly improved FFA, evidenced by a reduction in mean absolute error (MAE) from 0.843 N to 0.054 N and a mean relative absolute error (MRAE) from 18.89% to 1.52% in static conditions. In dynamic motions, the MAE reduced from 3.10 N to 0.370 N, and the MRAE declined from 117.66% to 22.57%. With human-in-the-loop, the CLC reduced the MAE by about 93% and the MRAE by about 92%. The ablation study showed the effectiveness of each calibration model. Our methodology can be applied to similar motor-driven FFDs.","PeriodicalId":13215,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Haptics","volume":"18 1","pages":"255-268"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143541860","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Luca Turchet;Christian Sassi;Davide Vecchia;Gian Pietro Picco
{"title":"Real-Time Musical Haptics With Ultra-Wideband: A Study on Latency, Reliability, and Perception","authors":"Luca Turchet;Christian Sassi;Davide Vecchia;Gian Pietro Picco","doi":"10.1109/TOH.2025.3525959","DOIUrl":"10.1109/TOH.2025.3525959","url":null,"abstract":"Ultra wideband (UWB) radios are popular for accurate distance estimation between devices. However, UWB also offers low-power, fast, reliable wireless communication. We exploit it here in a <italic>real-time musical haptics</i> system for live performances: a wearable, wirelessly activated via UWB by the performer's instrument, augments the audience <italic>musical</i> experience with a <italic>tactile</i> sensory layer. Two challenges are crucial to the experience quality: <italic>i)</i> communication must be <italic>reliable</i>, to prevent corruption of tactile signals, and <italic>ii)</i> these must reach the audience <italic>synchronously</i> with the instrument sounds. We perform micro-benchmarks of UWB links alone in a controlled setup, showing that the haptic signal can be delivered reliably over UWB <italic>before</i> the instrument sound, thus enabling proper compensation delays to <italic>perfectly</i> realign sound and tactile vibration. We confirm this holds on the end-to-end system including haptic components by characterizing four proof-of-concept prototypes combining different UWB-enabled instruments and wearables. Finally, we reconcile these objective measures with subjective ones via a user study focusing on <italic>perception</i>, yielding very positive outcomes. Together, these results confirm the potential of UWB-based musical haptics for enhancing the audience experience at live performances in ways hitherto unexplored.","PeriodicalId":13215,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Haptics","volume":"18 1","pages":"269-280"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143541867","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jia Liu, Anders Bjorkman, Christian Antfolk, Nebojsa Malesevic
{"title":"The Impact of Stimulation Parameters on Reaction Times Following Transcutaneous Electrical Stimulation in the Lower Leg.","authors":"Jia Liu, Anders Bjorkman, Christian Antfolk, Nebojsa Malesevic","doi":"10.1109/TOH.2025.3526542","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/TOH.2025.3526542","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The growing need for human-machine interfaces (HMIs) underscores the importance of sensory feedback, with electrical stimulation offering efficient interaction in various applications. While its sensory effects are extensively studied, investigations into the reaction time (RT) following transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TES) remain limited. This study aimed to evaluate how stimulation parameters influence RT. We examined RT and RT variability among twenty healthy participants aged 21 to 61 years. Participants underwent 16 stimulation patterns (10 repetitions per pattern) with combinations of four pulse frequencies (4, 26, 48, 70 Hz) and four pulse amplitudes (1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0 times of sensory threshold) on four skin locations in the lower leg above peroneal nerve, tibial nerve, tibialis anterior muscle, and a lateral shank control site. RT was assessed as participants dorsiflexed their foot in response to electrical stimulation. Results revealed that both RT and its variability decreased as pulse frequency and amplitude increased, and there was an interaction effect between pulse frequency and amplitude. However, no significant difference was found in RT across stimulation locations. These findings demonstrate how stimulation parameters affect the speed and efficiency of communication between the user and the stimulator, showing promises for augmenting real-time feedback HMIs.</p>","PeriodicalId":13215,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Haptics","volume":"PP ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143541870","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Elisa Iovene;Riccardo Monaco;Junling Fu;Francesco Costa;Giancarlo Ferrigno;Elena De Momi
{"title":"EMG-Based Variable Impedance Control for Enhanced Haptic Feedback in Real-Time Material Recognition","authors":"Elisa Iovene;Riccardo Monaco;Junling Fu;Francesco Costa;Giancarlo Ferrigno;Elena De Momi","doi":"10.1109/TOH.2024.3524023","DOIUrl":"10.1109/TOH.2024.3524023","url":null,"abstract":"Advancements in robotic systems hold significant promise for enhancing spinal interventions. Despite this potential, the integration of robotic platforms in spine surgeries remains limited to only a few procedures. This paper presents a variable impedance control scheme within a shared-control framework to enhance haptic feedback during spinal surgeries. The system allows surgeons to guide the robot while dynamically adjusting stiffness based on contact forces and human intent, using electromyography signals. This adaptive control offers real-time guidance during interactions with different materials, serving as a safety measure to safeguard delicate structures encountered during surgical maneuvers. The system comprises a 7-DoF robotic manipulator with a 6-axis force/torque sensor and an 8-channel EMG sensor. Technical validation and a user study assessed performance compared to constant parameter (CIC) and linear variable (LVIC) impedance control methods. Results showed reduced contact force (<inline-formula><tex-math>$ -5.065 pm 1.45{kern2.84526pt}{rm N}$</tex-math></inline-formula> vs CIC's <inline-formula><tex-math>$ -13.72 pm 6.52 {kern2.84526pt}{rm N}$</tex-math></inline-formula> and LVIC's <inline-formula><tex-math>$ -8.73 pm 2.41 {kern2.84526pt}{rm N}$</tex-math></inline-formula>) and in-contact displacement (<inline-formula><tex-math>$ 0.0074 pm 0.0018 {kern2.84526pt} {rm m}$</tex-math></inline-formula> vs CIC's <inline-formula><tex-math>$ 0.019 pm 0.0068 {kern2.84526pt} {rm m}$</tex-math></inline-formula> and LVIC's <inline-formula><tex-math>$ 0.0125 pm 0.0028 {kern2.84526pt} {rm m}$</tex-math></inline-formula>), when interacting with delicate materials, minimizing the risk to critical anatomical structures. Additionally, a user survey confirmed that the proposed system improved haptic perception and control while preventing undesired movements during interactions with various tissues and structures.","PeriodicalId":13215,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Haptics","volume":"18 1","pages":"220-231"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-01-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=10820827","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143541861","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pijuan Yu;Luke C. Batteas;Thomas K. Ferris;M. Cynthia Hipwell;Francis Quek;Rebecca F. Friesen
{"title":"Investigating Passive Presentation Paradigms to Approximate Active Haptic Palpation","authors":"Pijuan Yu;Luke C. Batteas;Thomas K. Ferris;M. Cynthia Hipwell;Francis Quek;Rebecca F. Friesen","doi":"10.1109/TOH.2024.3523259","DOIUrl":"10.1109/TOH.2024.3523259","url":null,"abstract":"Active, exploratory touch supports human perception of a broad set of invisible physical surface properties. When traditionally hands-on tasks, such as medical palpation of soft tissue, are translated to virtual settings, haptic perception is throttled by technological limitations, and much of the richness of active exploration can be lost. The current research seeks to restore some of this richness with advanced methods of passively conveying haptic data alongside synchronized visual feeds. A robotic platform presented haptic stimulation modeled after the relative motion between a hypothetical physician's hands and artificial tissue samples during palpation. Performance in discriminating the sizes of hidden “tumors” in these samples was compared across display conditions which included haptic feedback and either: 1) synchronized video of the participant's hand, recorded during active exploration; 2) synchronized video of another person's hand; 3) no accompanying video. The addition of visual feedback did not improve task performance, which was similar whether receiving relative motion recorded from one's own hand or someone else's. While future research should explore additional strategies to improve task performance, this initial attempt to translate active haptic sensations to passive presentations indicates that visuo-haptic feedback can induce reliable haptic perceptions of motion in a stationary passive hand.","PeriodicalId":13215,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Haptics","volume":"18 1","pages":"208-219"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-12-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143541803","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Intuitive Directional Sense Presentation to the Torso Using McKibben-Based Surface Haptic Sensation in Immersive Space","authors":"Kenta Yokoe;Tadayoshi Aoyama;Yuki Funabora;Masaru Takeuchi;Yasuhisa Hasegawa","doi":"10.1109/TOH.2024.3522897","DOIUrl":"10.1109/TOH.2024.3522897","url":null,"abstract":"In recent years, systems that utilize immersive space have been developed in various fields. Immersive spaces often contain considerable amounts of visual information; therefore, users often fail to obtain their desired information. Therefore, various methods have been developed to guide users toward haptic sensations. However, many of these methods have limitations in terms of the intuitive perception of haptic sensation and require practice for familiarization with haptic sensation. Fabric actuators are wearable haptic devices that combine fabric and McKibben artificial muscles to provide wearers with surface haptic sensation. These sensations can be provided to a wide area of the body with intuitive perception, instead of only to a part of the body. This paper presents a novel air pressure adjustment method for whole-body motion guidance using surface haptic sensations provided by a wearable fabric actuator. The proposed system can provide users with a directional sense without visual information in an immersive space. The effectiveness of the proposed system was evaluated through subject experiments and statistical data analysis. Finally, a directional sense presentation was conducted for users performing micromanipulations in a mixed-reality space to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed system for teleoperation.","PeriodicalId":13215,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Haptics","volume":"18 1","pages":"244-254"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-12-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=10816514","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143541793","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"2024 Index IEEE Transactions on Haptics Vol. 17","authors":"","doi":"10.1109/TOH.2024.3522538","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/TOH.2024.3522538","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":13215,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Haptics","volume":"17 4","pages":"1006-1027"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-12-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=10814999","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142880384","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Voluminous Fur Stroking Experience Through Interactive Visuo-Haptic Model in Virtual Reality","authors":"Juro Hosoi;Du Jin;Yuki Ban;Shin'ichi Warisawa","doi":"10.1109/TOH.2024.3521418","DOIUrl":"10.1109/TOH.2024.3521418","url":null,"abstract":"The tactile sensation of stroking soft fur, known for its comfort and emotional benefits, has numerous applications in virtual reality, animal-assisted therapy, and household products. Previous studies have primarily utilized actual fur to present a voluminous fur experience that poses challenges concerning versatility and flexibility. In this study, we develop a system that integrates a head-mounted display with an ultrasound haptic display to provide visual and haptic feedback. Measurements taken using an artificial skin sheet reveal directional differences in tactile and visual responses to voluminous fur. Based on observations and measurements, we propose interactive models that dynamically adjust to hand movements, simulating fur-stroking sensations. Our experiments demonstrate that the proposed model using visual and haptic modalities significantly enhances the realism of a fur-stroking experience. Our findings suggest that the interactive visuo-haptic model offers a promising fur-stroking experience in virtual reality, potentially enhancing the user experience in therapeutic, entertainment, and retail applications.","PeriodicalId":13215,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Haptics","volume":"18 1","pages":"232-243"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-12-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143541805","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chaozhou Zhang;Min Li;Zonglin Wu;Chen-Guang Zhao;Hua Yuan;Jun Xie;Guanghua Xu;Jichun Li;Shan Luo
{"title":"A Haptic Feedback Sleeve for a Flight Video Game","authors":"Chaozhou Zhang;Min Li;Zonglin Wu;Chen-Guang Zhao;Hua Yuan;Jun Xie;Guanghua Xu;Jichun Li;Shan Luo","doi":"10.1109/TOH.2024.3518496","DOIUrl":"10.1109/TOH.2024.3518496","url":null,"abstract":"Modern video games are increasingly aiming for more natural interactions and healthier gaming experiences. Haptic devices, in particular, can enhance these experiences by providing multimodal feedback and simulating a variety of body postures. However, limited attention has been paid to utilizing upper limb wearable haptic devices in video games. In this study, we developed a flight video game that incorporates a wearable pneumatic haptic device. Our designed haptic feedback sleeve can deliver changes in both haptic forces and applied areas on the forearm. The proposed device consists of 40 airbag units made from two layers of TPU film, sealed by heat. To verify its performance, we conducted finite element simulations and experiments to assess the output force, area, and linearity of the airbag units. Two haptic perception experiments were conducted to verify the distribution of this haptic feedback device. Finally, experimental validation combining the flight video game was conducted. The results showed that the distributed upper limb haptic feedback sleeve reduced the user's following angle error by 12.99% when the aircraft roll speed was 16 deg/s. This finding indicates an enhancement in limb motor control ability using the proposed haptic feedback sleeve.","PeriodicalId":13215,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Haptics","volume":"18 1","pages":"198-207"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-12-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143541791","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}