Investigation of a Haptic Actuator Made with Magneto-Rheological Fluids for Haptic Shoes Applications
Yong Hae Heo,
Sangkyu Byeon,
Tae-Hoon Kim,
In-Ho Yun,
Jin Ryong Kim,
Sang-Youn Kim
Affiliations
Yong Hae Heo
Interaction Laboratory, Future Convergence Engineering, Advanced Technology Research Center, Korea University of Technology and Education, 1800 Chungjeollo, Byeongcheon-myeon, Cheonan City 330-708, Korea
Sangkyu Byeon
Interaction Laboratory, Future Convergence Engineering, Advanced Technology Research Center, Korea University of Technology and Education, 1800 Chungjeollo, Byeongcheon-myeon, Cheonan City 330-708, Korea
Tae-Hoon Kim
Interaction Laboratory, Future Convergence Engineering, Advanced Technology Research Center, Korea University of Technology and Education, 1800 Chungjeollo, Byeongcheon-myeon, Cheonan City 330-708, Korea
In-Ho Yun
Interaction Laboratory, Future Convergence Engineering, Advanced Technology Research Center, Korea University of Technology and Education, 1800 Chungjeollo, Byeongcheon-myeon, Cheonan City 330-708, Korea
Jin Ryong Kim
Department of Computer Science, The University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W Campbell Road, Richardson, TX 75080, USA
Sang-Youn Kim
Interaction Laboratory, Future Convergence Engineering, Advanced Technology Research Center, Korea University of Technology and Education, 1800 Chungjeollo, Byeongcheon-myeon, Cheonan City 330-708, Korea
This paper presents a magneto-rheological (MR) actuator that can be easily inserted into haptic shoes and can haptically simulate the material properties of the ground. To increase the resistive force of the proposed actuator, we designed a movable piston having multiple operation modes of MR fluids. Further, the design of a solenoid coil was optimized to maximize the resistive force in a limited-sized MR actuator. Simulations were conducted to predict the actuation performance and to show that the magnetic flux flows well by forming a closed loop in the proposed actuator. The quantitative evaluation of the proposed actuator was investigated by measuring the resistive force as a function of the input current and its pressed depth. From the result, we found that the proposed actuator can create over 600 N by adjusting the input current.