Using Particle Jamming to Create Soft Haptic Interfaces for use in Telerobotics

Abstract

Haptic technology is no longer limited to rendering simple effects in game controllers and smartphones. Recent advances in the design of haptic devices have made important advances in both the rendering of high-definition haptic sensations and integrating haptic feedback into an ever expanding range of digital technologies. However, true high information density haptic interfaces still remain out of reach. This PhD project aims to make progress toward higher information-density haptic interfaces by layering multiple haptic effects on top of each other, such that they can be actuated independently. The project has both technical and scientific goals. The technical objective is to design, validate and utilize a novel soft technology based on particle jamming for rendering tactile hardness, vibration and shape change. The scientific goal is to use this technology to conduct empirical studies into how multiple haptic cues can be layered on top of one another, perceived and understood by a user. This thesis begins with an overview of the state of the art in haptic technology, followed by in depth reviews into aspects of soft haptics and applications of haptic feedback in telerobotics. A method for combining multiple haptic cues is then described and prototypes demonstrated and characterised. The technology is integrated into two interactive haptic interfaces and used in two scientific studies, one addressing the psychophysics of multi-modal haptic feedback, the other investigating applications of haptic feedback in a difficult robot teleoperation task.