Engineers at UC San Diego use soft robotics and 3D printing to make gloves that provide tactile feedback in virtual reality environments.

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Using soft robotics and 3D printing, engineers at UC San Diego are making light, flexible gloves that allow users to feel tactile feedback when they interact with virtual reality environments. To demonstrate the viability of a prototype, the researchers used the gloves to simulate playing a piano in VR.

The engineers recently presented their research at the “Electronic Imaging, Engineering Reality for Virtual Reality” conference in Burlingame, California.

Currently, VR user interfaces consist of remote-like devices that vibrate when a user touches a virtual surface or object. According to Jurgen Schulze, a researcher at the Qualcomm Institute at UC San Diego and one of the paper’s senior authors:

“They’re not realistic. You can’t touch anything, or feel resistance when you’re pushing a button. By contrast, we are trying to make the user feel like they’re in the actual environment from a tactile point of view.”

Other research teams and industry have been exploring using gloves for VR interfaces. But the challenge is make them less bulky and with lighter materials. The glove that the engineers have developed has a soft exoskeleton equipped with soft robotic muscles, which make it much lighter and easier to use.

“This is a first prototype but it is surprisingly effective,” said Michael Tolley, a mechanical engineering professor at the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego and another senior author.

Soft Robotics Utilize a McKibben Muscle

A key element in the gloves’ design is a type of soft robotic component called a McKibben muscle. These are essentially latex chambers covered with braided fibers. The muscles respond like springs to apply force when the user moves their fingers. The board controls the muscles by inflating and deflating them.

The system involves three main components; a Leap Motion sensor that detects the position and movement of the user’s hands; a custom fluidic control board that controls the gloves’ movements; and soft robotic components in the glove that individually inflate or deflate to mimic the forces that the user would encounter in the VR environment.

The system interacts with a computer that displays a virtual piano keyboard, with a river and trees in the background.

Researchers 3D printed a mold to make the gloves’ soft exoskeleton. This will make the devices easier to manufacture and suitable for mass production. They used silicone rubber for the exoskeleton, with Velcro straps embedded at the joints.

The team conducted an informal pilot study of 15 users, including two VR interface experts. All tried the demo which allowed them to play the piano in VR. They all agreed that the gloves increased the immersive experience. They described it as “mesmerizing” and “amazing.”

Moving forward, the engineers are working on making the glove cheaper, more compact and more portable. “Our final goal is to create a device that provides a richer experience in VR,” Tolley says. “But you could imagine it being used for surgery and video games, among other applications.”

Source: UC San Diego