Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants - Project

Our high-level objective is to explore the design of wearable haptics as an interaction paradigm in everyday conditions. This requires wireless devices that can be attached to the body or inserted into regular clothing, capable of sensing human input and delivering richly expressive output to the wearer. For InterDigital, haptics represents a new area, with potentially important synergy with its core market. In collaboration with InterDigital, and building on our experience with foot-ground sensing and actuation, we will explore this design space with a focus on foot-based haptics, for which potential applications span the gamut from rehabilitation therapy and sports training to information communication, virtual reality, and mobile gaming._x000D_ _x000D_ The research program to be supported by this proposal involves three parallel tracks of investigation: 1) augmentation of our haptics device architecture, including integration of sensors and actuators, 2) pattern perception research, including signal generation design strategies, as needed to produce the haptic sensations experienced by users wearing these devices, whether in the form of discrete patterns of vibration ("tactons") or more continuous textures evocative of interaction with objects or ground surfaces, and 3) exploration of the use of wearable haptic devices for ground surface simulation, and in compelling applications, in particular those requiring mobility, such as gaming, sports training, and physical rehabilitation._x000D_ _x000D_ The anticipated outcomes of this research include a deeper understanding of the sensory and physiological mechanisms involved in haptic perception, including those related to haptic illusions and multisensory fusion, use of this understanding to develop a flexible toolkit that supports the design of haptic effects for a variety of use cases, and the validation of this toolkit in a mobile application context in which the addition of haptic signals, in particular, to the feet, significantly enhances the user experience. _x000D_ _x000D_ _x000D_ _x000D_