Electrotactile Display for Integration with Kinesthetic Display

The goal of this study is to develop a haptic interface for dexterous manipulation. To achieve this, we proposed electrotactile-kinesthetic integration. Our electrotactile display presents natural touch sensations of objects. In addition, this display is so small that it is considered to not affect the moving range of fingers. The haptic interface for dexterous manipulation is realized by mounting it on a kinesthetic display having a wide workspace. The electrotactile display on the integrated haptic interface is used actively. Therefore, we actively evaluated the performances of the electrotactile display on the single-fingered prototype system. The results revealed the present performance of the system. Subsequently, it also shows the possibility of further improving of the haptic interface by devising an electrotactile rendering method.