ABSTRACT

We found that a spiral coil placed beneath a fingertip enhances tactile sensation while tracing small undulated surfaces. Hence, we investigated the mechanism underlying the enhanced tactile sensation. We evaluated the amplification effect quantitatively to demonstrate that the coil increases the tactile sensation in the finger pad. Specifically, we installed a strain gauge between the spiral coil and the fingertip to measure the strain corresponding to the curvature of a skin surface that undergoes deformation when tracing the surface. Then, to determine the enhancing mechanism of tactile sensation by the coil, we modeled the coil while moving on a surface with irregularities. The corresponding simulation results show that the inclination of the coil elements changes while moving on uneven shapes. Furthermore, as the distance between the tips of adjacent coil elements increases (reduces), the shape (or curvature) of the skin varies, and the skin on the fingertip attached to the coil expands (contracts) along the lateral direction. Therefore, the lateral strain on the fingertip is amplified by the coil moving on an undulated surface, thus enhancing tactile sensation.

抽象的

我们发现放置在指尖下方的螺旋线圈增强了触感，同时还能追踪小的起伏表面。因此，我们研究了增强触感的潜在机制。我们定量评估了放大效果，以证明线圈增加了指垫中的触感。具体而言，我们在螺旋线圈和指尖之间安装了一个应变仪，以测量与在跟踪皮肤表面时发生变形的皮肤表面的曲率相对应的应变。然后，为了确定线圈增强触感的机制，我们在不规则表面上移动时对线圈进行了建模。相应的仿真结果表明，线圈元件的倾斜度在不均匀形状上移动时会发生变化。此外，随着相邻线圈元件的尖端之间的距离增加（减小），皮肤的形状（或曲率）变化，并且附着在线圈上的指尖上的皮肤沿横向方向扩展（收缩）。因此，线圈在起伏的表面上移动会放大指尖上的横向应变，从而增强触感。