Haptic artificial muscle skin for extended reality

PubDate: Oct 2024

Teams: University of California

Writers: YUXUAN GUO, ROSHAN PLAMTHOTTAM, SIYOU PEI , CHEN WEI , ZIQING HAN , JIACHENG FAN , MASON POSSINGER , KEDE LIU , YINGKE ZHU , ZHANGQING FEI, ISABELLE WINARDI , HYEONJI HONG , YANG ZHANG , LIHUA JIN , AND QIBING PEI

PDF: Haptic artificial muscle skin for extended reality

Abstract

Existing haptic actuators are often rigid and limited in their ability to replicate real-world tactile sensations. We present a wearable haptic artificial muscle skin (HAMS) based on fully soft, millimeter-scale, multilayer dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) capable of significant out-of-plane deformation, a capability that typically requires rigid or liquid biasing. The DEAs use a thickness-varying multilayer structure to achieve large out-of-plane displacement and force, maintaining comfort and wearability. Experimental results demonstrate that HAMS can produce complex tactile feedback with high perception accuracy. Moreover, we show that HAMS can be integrated into extended reality (XR) systems, enhancing immersion and offering potential applications in entertainment, education, and assistive technologies.