A vibrotactile feedback approach to posture guidance

In this paper, we explore the use of vibrotactile haptic feedback to improve performance of a sensory-motor task. Our specific application is seated posture guidance. Poor sitting postures, over time, can lead to health concerns such as low back pain. We propose a real-time haptic feedback system that actively senses and guides a person to a desired posture. We have instrumented an ergonomic office chair with a simple system using 7 force-sensitive resistors (FSRs) for posture detection and 6 vibrotactile actuators (¿tactors¿) for haptic feedback. When the chair detects that the subject is not sitting in the desired posture, one or more tactors will vibrate, directing the subject towards or away from a certain position. In a pilot study of 10 subjects (age 23.9±1.45, weight 71.1±13.6kg, height 175±11.2cm), 100% sat in the reference posture (upright) more often when there was haptic feedback than when there was not. Additionally, when haptic feedback was temporarily disabled without the subject´s knowledge, all of the subjects continued to sit in upright or near-upright postures. These findings suggest that vibrotactile feedback can be an effective means of communicating musculoskeletal commands to the human sensory-motor system, especially for motor training and rehabilitation.