A Thermal and Vibrational Feedback Glove Based on the Tactile Characteristics of Human Hand Skin

Abstract

As an important method for humans to perceive their environment, touch has not been fully integrated into virtual reality technology. Existing tactile feedback devices have the problem of being large and expensive, and most studies have not explored the ability of the affected area to distinguish an external stimulus, thus it is difficult to perform natural human-computer interactions. This article describes the development of a device that can transmit multimodal tactile information in accordance with the characteristics of human hand skin perception during a human-computer interaction. The device has 10 miniature vibrators (Φ = 10 mm, d=2.7 mm) and 2 semiconductor refrigerators (23 mm × 23 mm × 4 mm), which can achieve temperature and vibration feedback. First, the structure and working principle of the device were introduced, and the device's performance was analyzed. Subsequently, an experiment based on the perception characteristics of human hand skin was designed. The experiment determined the vibration level (1-5), heating level (I-IV), and cooling level (I-III) that are consistent with the perception characteristics of the hand skin. Finally, a chemical experiment was designed to test the performance of the device. The results of the experiment showed that 92% of the volunteers thought the device had a higher sense of authenticity and immersion than the traditional virtual reality experience.

Keywords

• Tactile feedback
• temperature
• vibration
• virtual reality