Multihaptics: A novel multipurpose haptic unit to accelerate haptic integration

在整个2022-2023财年，我们在项目的三个主要组成部分的实施方面取得了持续的进展：触觉单元、触觉提示和软件。关于触觉单元，我们已经将变速箱重新定位到触觉尖端，以允许在不同马达速度下产生触觉反馈。通过初步评估，我们评估了感知到的触觉反馈，并研究了用户对每种不同提示生成的玉米面的理解。然而，由于触觉单元附着在皮肤上，当前迭代的触觉单元在皮肤和触觉尖端之间存在缺口，这导致识别生产的油炸圈饼的准确率低于预期。作为解决方案，我们目前正在重新设计设备，以通过触觉提示进行连接。关于触觉提示，我们根据用户研究增强了四种不同触觉提示的设计。每个触觉尖端都有一个定制的变速箱，根据产生触觉反馈的要求(例如，振动需要更高的电机速度，而挤压或拖动需要更高的扭矩)。对于软件组件，我们进一步改进了图形用户界面，使用户能够以更高的精度制作饺子。目前，我们正在测量每个尖端的不同参数，如振动尖端的振动强度和挤压尖端的施加压力，以便更准确地控制图形用户界面中的触觉交互。

Throughout the fiscal year 2022-2023, we have made continued advancements in the implementation of the three primary components of the project: the Haptic Unit, Haptic Tips, and Software. In regard to the Haptic Unit, we have repositioned the gearbox to the haptic tips to allow for the production of haptic feedback at different motor speeds. Through preliminary evaluations, we have assessed the perceived tactile feedback and studied user understanding of the tactons generated by each different tip. However, the current iteration of the haptic unit presents a gap between the skin and the haptic tip due to its attachment to the skin, which has resulted in less-than-desired accuracy rates for identifying produced tactons. As a solution, we are currently in the process of redesigning the device to attach via the tip instead.Regarding the Haptic Tips, we have enhanced the design of the four different haptic tips based on user studies. Every haptic tip has a custom gearbox depending on the requirements to produce the haptic feedback (e.g., vibration requires higher motor speeds while squeezing or dragging require higher torque).For the Software component, we have further improved the GUI to enable users to create tactons with greater precision. Currently, we are measuring different parameters of each tip, such as vibration intensity for the vibration tip and applied pressure for the squeezing tip, in order to provide more accurate control of haptic interactions within the GUI.