The Haptic Glove
Project Goal.
Our goal was to create a glove that would give a user haptic feedback utilizing materials science and polymer chemistry
Timeline.
November 2017 - November 2018
Role.
Undergraduate Researcher
Worked with a partner in parallel for each step of the process
Skills Used.
Polymer Chemistry & Fabrication
Material Characterization: Tensile and Bending Stiffness Tests
Human Patient Testing
Project Overview.
The ability to touch the virtual world is one many researchers strive to achieve. But current methods tend to use exoskeletal gloves, with motors that engage at a certain bending percentage of your fingers that match the shape profile of the virtual object. You indeed “feel” an object, but the feeling is more something holding your fingers back, as opposed to feeling the pressure of the object against the front of your fingers. As materials scientists, we wanted to create a glove that can give users haptic feedback in the front of the fingers, engaging the somatosensory system, while avoiding bulky exoskeletal creations by manipulating the material properties of the glove itself.
To do so, we used a simple spandex glove lined with a thermoplastic polymer. By modifying the glass transition temperature, we were able to show that the front of the glove can be stiffened or softened at will to mimic the pressure of grabbing an object, say a virtual cup. Moreso, we showed that we can heal this material with heat after it has worn down, prolonging its potential life span.
More information on this project can be found in the Healable Thermoplastic paper in the publications section.
