VIRTUAL REALITY HAPTIC CONTROLLER
- AN ADVANCED EMBODIMENT DESIGN PROJECT
A COMPLEX CHALLENGE
As our academic client, SenseGlove laid out a challenge -- improve the interface between exoskeleton and user. Seemingly simple, research revealed this problem to be a balancing act between three factors -- performance, comfort, and realism. The interface -- referred to as Soft Glove -- had to be usable for hours at a time, allow no shift during use, and accurately transmit the minutiae of two forms of digital haptic feedback -- kinesthetic, and vibrational.
To solve this challenge, dozens of components and features were (re)designed, embodied, and prototyped. Digital technologies, CAD and simulations, were blended with experimental uses of 3D printers; producing molds, and multi- material parts. Eventually, a significantly (scientifically tested) improved product resulted by the redesign of two parts: The Palm and The Thimbles.
The palm design entails multiple parts and is the foundation for increased performance in the new design. By improving the structure and grip around the palm, the movement of the Sense Glove is minimized. The higher accuracy which leads to consistent readings from the Hard Glove.
Our fingertips are incredibly sensitive. With thousands of nerve endings per finger pad, fingers can perceive surface imperfections measured in the fraction of a millimeter.
The uniqueness of this design is the combination of two hard components, connected with an overmolded flexible component. The design is adjusted to the ergonomic fitting of P5 - P95 of population anthropometrics. The Thimble is designed to relief pressure around sensitive areas (such as the cuticle and veins) and reduces temperature rise during intensive use. Lastly, the sleeve part has an optimised shape to allow for enough pulling force to stay in place, but its design is unobtrusive during use.
PROTOTYPING
During the iterations of both product parts, a lot of different types of prototyping was used to test design concepts. Among these methods were rapid prototyping with hobby materials, 3D printers, multiple-component printers, an Object printer and custom-made injection molding (see image). CAD simulation software was used to test geometry stiffness and strength and electronic prototypes were used to test the product when being used. The necessity of these complex methods was due to complex designs and the (often small) size of the parts.
Haptiq - Soft Glove
PUBLICATION
This product was thoroughly tested for its working principle. A scientific paper was written and presented by one of the team members on ISMAR conference 2018. The paper titled 'Designing Haptics: Improving a Virtual Reality Glove with Respect to Realism, Performance, and Comfort' was published in the International Journal of Automation Technology.