Conveying trunk orientation information through a wearable tactile interface.

We present the design and test of a wearable device capable to detect the user's trunk orientation with respect to the gravitational field and to provide tactile stimulation to correct tilted positions. Vibrations are delivered to the shoulders, the frontal and dorsal parts of the trunk, by using the human body as an indicator of the four cardinal directions. The device was experimentally tested in normal gravity conditions by thirty-nine volunteers.

The Effect of Visual and Auditory Information on the Perception of Pleasantness and Roughness of Virtual Surfaces.

Despite the large number of studies on the multisensory aspects of tactile perception, very little is known regarding the effects of visual and auditory sensory modalities on the tactile hedonic evaluation of textures, especially when the presentation of the stimuli is mediated by a haptic device. In this study, different haptic virtual surfaces were rendered by varying the static and dynamic frictional coefficients of a Geomagic® Touch device. In Experiment 1, the haptic surfaces were paired with pictures representing everyday materials (glass, plastic, rubber and steel); in Experiment 2, the haptic surfaces were paired with sounds resulting from the haptic exploration of paper or sandpaper.

Force sensitive handles and capacitive touch sensor for driving a flexible haptic-based immersive system.

In this article, we present an approach that uses both two force sensitive handles (FSH) and a flexible capacitive touch sensor (FCTS) to drive a haptic-based immersive system. The immersive system has been developed as part of a multimodal interface for product design. The haptic interface consists of a strip that can be used by product designers to evaluate the quality of a 3D virtual shape by using touch, vision and hearing and, also, to interactively change the shape of the virtual object.

Improving manual skills in persons with disabilities (PWD) through a multimodal assistance system.

Unlabelled: In this research work, we present a Multimodal Guidance System (MGS) whose aim is to provide dynamic assistance to persons with disabilities (PWD) while performing manual activities such as drawing, coloring in and foam-cutting tasks. The MGS provides robotic assistance in the execution of 2D tasks through haptic and sound interactions. Haptic technology provides the virtual path of 2D shapes through the point-based approach, while sound technology provides audio feedback inputs related to the hand's velocity while sketching and filling or cutting operations.

Geodesic Spline Interface for Haptic Curve Rendering.

Several haptic devices have been developed in recent years in order to reproduce the sensation of physical contact with virtual objects. Many of these devices are point-based, and some haptic interfaces behave like small surfaces that conform to a virtual shape. None of these allow a full-hand contact with the shape, and they are, in general, too small to render big surfaces.

Performance evaluation of triangulation based range sensors.

The performance of 2D digital imaging systems depends on several factors related with both optical and electronic processing. These concepts have originated standards, which have been conceived for photographic equipment and bi-dimensional scanning systems, and which have been aimed at estimating different parameters such as resolution, noise or dynamic range. Conversely, no standard test protocols currently exist for evaluating the corresponding performances of 3D imaging systems such as laser scanners or pattern projection range cameras.