Article
Robotics
Luca Scimeca, Josie Hughes, Perla Maiolino, Liang He, Thrishantha Nanayakkara, Fumiya Iida
Summary: Medical palpation is a diagnostic technique using touch to manipulate soft human tissue, particularly for diagnosing life-threatening conditions like cancer. Research shows that exploring soft body interactions requires complex palpation trajectories, and a probabilistic approach can efficiently search the robot's action space. This study advances robotic palpation and provides frameworks for understanding and utilizing soft body interactions.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jocelyn Monnoyer, Laurence Willemet, Michael Wiertlewski
Summary: Shortly after touching an object, humans can perceive the sudden changes in the friction of the surface. The perception is robust only when the friction coefficient is reduced. This change in frictional properties during initial contact is interpreted as a normal displacement of the surface, which could enable the development of haptic surfaces that create illusions of interacting with mechanical buttons.
JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY INTERFACE
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Keiichiro Yanagibashi, Norihisa Miki
Summary: This study focuses on the quantitative characterization of tactile perception, specifically examining roughness and dryness. Microfabricated tactile samples were used to conduct perception experiments, revealing the dominant role of groove width in roughness perception and the different properties of dryness perception based on feature sizes. The proposed tactile samples enable precise and quantitative characterization of tactile perception.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Gyorgy Wersenyi
Summary: This paper discusses the application of multi-modal feedback devices in assistive technology and presents the results of an experiment with an 8-channel tactile feedback system. The findings suggest that the wrist is the optimal placement for sensors, and using 2 and 4 channels simultaneously yields high accuracy.
Article
Neurosciences
Heba Khamis, Hafiz Malik Naqash Afzal, Jennifer Sanchez, Richard Vickery, Michael Wiertlewski, Stephen J. Redmond, Ingvars Birznieks
Summary: The study shows that conscious perception of frictional information requires a sufficiently large lateral movement, as moderate tangential forces alone are not enough to perceive frictional differences. These findings may be useful in designing haptic devices based on friction modulation principles.
JOURNAL OF NEUROPHYSIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Computer Science, Information Systems
Tiesong Zhao, Ying Fang, Kai Wang, Qian Liu, Yuzhen Niu
Summary: This paper introduces a Recurrent-Network-based Vibrotactile Codec (RNVC) to achieve high efficiency and low delay. By utilizing the statistical features of vibrotactile data, the codec is able to reduce the original bitrates while maintaining coding performance.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MULTIMEDIA
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Thomas Ules, Michael Griesser, Andreas Hausberger, Christian Schipfer, Mohammad Mansouri, Peter Fuchs, Sandra Schloegl, Dieter P. Gruber
Summary: This paper presents new investigations on the relationship between physical surface parameters of polymer-based coatings, skin hydration levels, and tactile friction. Tribological tests were carried out to measure the coefficient of friction between the finger pad and the coatings. The results showed that the perceived friction correlates well with the coefficient of friction and surface hardness for dry skin, but not for moist finger skin. The findings were explained using the assumption of adhesion dominated friction and the application of the Hertz contact theory.
JOURNAL OF COATINGS TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH
(2023)
Review
Polymer Science
Oguz Okay
Summary: Hydrogels are versatile materials that offer macroscopic monitoring of polymer chain conformation changes, making them ideal for both practical applications and theoretical studies. The discovery of smart hydrogels, characterized by discontinuous phase transitions in response to external stimuli, has opened up new possibilities for using hydrogels in innovative technologies such as mechanochemical transducers, switches, memories, and sensors. The re-entrant phenomenon observed in stimuli-responsive hydrogels, caused by competitive interactions in water-cosolvent mixtures, may further expand the potential applications of hydrogels in various fields.
Article
Biology
Alyx O. Milne, Llwyd Orton, Charlotte H. Black, Gary C. Jones, Matthew Sullivan, Robyn A. Grant
Summary: California sea lions are capable of making task-specific whisker movements, such as using large movements to judge size, smaller lateral stroking movements to judge texture, and very small movements during visual tasks. This, combined with the ease of training and measuring whisker movements in mammals, makes whiskers an ideal system for studying perception, cognition, and motor control in mammals.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Guanqun Cao, Jiaqi Jiang, Chen Lu, Daniel Fernandes Gomes, Shan Luo
Summary: Tactile sensing is crucial for robots to perceive the physical properties of objects. However, current tactile sensors have limitations in terms of sensing area and resistance, leading to ineffective and time-consuming assessment processes. To address these issues, we propose a roller-based optical tactile sensor called TouchRoller, which can maintain contact with the assessed surface throughout its motion, enabling efficient and continuous measurement.
Review
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Hoang Huy Vu, Nam-Trung Nguyen, Navid Kashaninejad
Summary: Superhydrophobic surfaces with hierarchal micro/nanostructures have many interesting applications due to their self-cleaning, waterproof, anti-biofouling, anti-corrosion, and low-adhesion properties. However, they suffer from loss of superhydrophobicity over time and inability to repel all types of liquids. To overcome these issues, microstructures with re-entrant curvature have emerged, showing excellent liquid-repellent abilities and robustness. This review summarizes the design and fabrication strategies of these microstructures, emphasizing wettability studies and other surface properties, as well as potential applications and remaining technical challenges.
ADVANCED MATERIALS TECHNOLOGIES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yichen Zhai, Zhijian Wang, Kye-Si Kwon, Shengqiang Cai, Darren J. Lipomi, Tse Nga Ng
Summary: The development of haptic actuators is trending towards using organic materials and additive printing technologies to achieve distributed signals over large areas. By combining the advantages of organic materials and digital printing technologies, haptic devices that are ergonomic and cost-effective can be obtained.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Computer Science, Cybernetics
Yerkebulan Massalim, Damien Faux, Vincent Hayward
Summary: Designing and manufacturing distributed tactile displays is challenging due to the difficulty in packing many strong actuators in a small space. This study explores a new design that reduces the number of independently actuated degrees of freedom while maintaining the ability to decorrelate signals applied to small regions of the fingertip skin. The device consists of two independently actuated tactile arrays, allowing for global control of the correlation of waveforms stimulating these small regions.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON HAPTICS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yuan Cao, Jeong Min Park, Kenji Watanabe, Takashi Taniguchi, Pablo Jarillo-Herrero
Summary: The study of magic-angle twisted trilayer graphene has revealed unexpectedly strong superconductivity, surpassing the conventional Pauli limit. The results suggest that external magnetic fields can induce transitions between phases with potentially different order parameters.
Article
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Nicolas Navarro-Guerrero, Sibel Toprak, Josip Josifovski, Lorenzo Jamone
Summary: This article summarizes the current state of visuo-haptic object perception in robots, discussing the biological basis of human multimodal object perception and the latest advancements in sensing technologies and data collection strategies for robots. It also presents an overview of the main computational techniques, highlighting the challenges of multimodal machine learning, and outlines promising new research directions based on the latest advancements and open challenges.
Article
Robotics
Soheil Kianzad, Guanxiong Chen, Karon E. MacLean
Summary: The paper discusses the potential of using robots for interactive learning activities and the role of haptic force feedback in enriching learning of science concepts. A framework for Physically Assisted Learning based on experiential learning stages is proposed to guide designers in developing effective technology to assist with design and exploration of learning stages. The authors demonstrate a technical pathway to support the full experience of designing experiments by combining drawing on paper with physical interaction with haptic rendering.
FRONTIERS IN ROBOTICS AND AI
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Karon MacLean
Summary: This article highlights the importance of incorporating affect into the discipline of haptic experience design, as well as the contributions of neuroscience and psychology in understanding affective mechanisms. However, due to the complexity of the systems and differences in researchers' home disciplines, developments in these three areas are often isolated. To facilitate greater collaboration, this article provides insights into how practitioners conceptualize their work and suggests ways for researchers to identify and fill gaps.
CURRENT OPINION IN BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Xi Laura Cang, Paul Bucci, Jussi Rantala, Karon E. MacLean
Summary: Practical affect recognition in interactive contexts requires efficiency and unobtrusiveness. To achieve this, integrating multiple nonverbal sources is a robust approach. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of users' touch and gaze as affect-encoding modalities during physical interaction with a robot pet. We collected data from various sensors and achieved high accuracy in predicting emotions when both training and test sets included participant information.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON AFFECTIVE COMPUTING
(2023)
Article
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Xi Laura Cang, Ali Israr, Karon E. MacLean
Summary: This research investigates the feasibility of haptic animations as affect-embedded tactile messages, highlighting the influence of relationship and shared history on design and interpretation. The study findings demonstrate that people can effectively communicate subtle meanings through shared context, despite the unfamiliar medium, and do so with evident fun.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON AFFECTIVE COMPUTING
(2023)
Proceedings Paper
Computer Science, Cybernetics
Karon E. MacLean, Oliver Schneider, Antoine Weill--Duflos, Vincent Levesque, Pourang Irani, Jeremy R. Cooperstock
2021 IEEE WORLD HAPTICS CONFERENCE (WHC)
(2021)
Proceedings Paper
Computer Science, Cybernetics
Farimah Fazlollahi, Hasti Seifi, Karon MacLean, Katherine J. Kuchenbecker
2021 IEEE WORLD HAPTICS CONFERENCE (WHC)
(2021)
Proceedings Paper
Computer Science, Cybernetics
Sabrina Hauser, Melinda J. Suto, Liisa Holsti, Manon Ranger, Karon E. MacLean
PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2020 CHI CONFERENCE ON HUMAN FACTORS IN COMPUTING SYSTEMS (CHI'20)
(2020)
Proceedings Paper
Computer Science, Cybernetics
Hasti Seifi, Michael Oppermann, Julia Bullard, Karon E. MacLean, Katherine J. Kuchenbecker
PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2020 CHI CONFERENCE ON HUMAN FACTORS IN COMPUTING SYSTEMS (CHI'20)
(2020)
Proceedings Paper
Computer Science, Cybernetics
Soheil Kianzad, Yuxiang Huang, Robert Xiao, Karon E. MacLean
PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2020 CHI CONFERENCE ON HUMAN FACTORS IN COMPUTING SYSTEMS (CHI'20)
(2020)
Article
Computer Science, Cybernetics
Hasti Seifi, Matthew Chun, Colin Gallacher, Oliver Stirling Schneider, Karon E. MacLean
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON HAPTICS
(2020)
Proceedings Paper
Computer Science, Cybernetics
Soheil Kianzad, Karon E. MacLean
HAPTIC INTERACTION: PERCEPTION, DEVICES AND ALGORITHMS
(2019)
Article
Rehabilitation
Nicholas Williams, Karon MacLean, Ling Guan, Jean Paul Collet, Liisa Holsti
OTJR-OCCUPATION PARTICIPATION AND HEALTH
(2019)
Article
Neurosciences
Liisa Holsti, Karon MacLean, Timothy Oberlander, Anne Synnes, Rollin Brant
Proceedings Paper
Computer Science, Cybernetics
Dilan Ustek, Kevin Chow, Haihua Zhang, Karon MacLean
HAPTICS: SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND APPLICATIONS, PT I
(2018)
Proceedings Paper
Computer Science, Cybernetics
Soheil Kianzad, Karon E. MacLean
2018 IEEE HAPTICS SYMPOSIUM (HAPTICS)
(2018)