Fourigami: A 4-Degree-of-Freedom, Force-Controlled, Origami, Finger Pad Haptic Device

Skin deformation haptic devices worn on the finger pad provide realistic touch feedback during interactions with virtual objects. Two primary challenges in creating such devices are: first, making a multidegree-of-freedom device (DoF) that is small and lightweight so it does not encumber the wearer and second, providing accurate control of forces displayed to the finger pad. This work presents a 4-DoF finger pad haptic device, called Fourigami, that addresses these challenges. We address the first challenge using origami manufacturing methods and pneumatic actuation to fabricate a 25 g prototype that displays normal, shear, and twist and can be easily worn on the finger pad. We address the second challenge using a low-profile, 6-DoF, force/torque sensor to control forces displayed to the finger. Fourigami has a bandwidth ranging from 2 to 4 Hz depending on direction, and when acting on a human finger, it exerts forces ranging from $\pm$ 1.0 N in shear, 4.2 N in normal, and $\pm$ 4.2 N $\cdot$ mm of twist. Finally, we demonstrate the device’s efficacy when rendering haptic feedback to a user tracking a sinusoidal trajectory and a trajectory representing interactions with a virtual object.