Softness display by a multi-fingered haptic interface robot

When we touch a human body, the flesh yields to our touch and we feel a sensation of softness. In virtual training systems for medical procedures such as palpation, the display of softness at the fingertips is essential. This paper proposes a softness-display device using a flexible sheet, and we present the concept of softness display at multiple fingers by combining the developed softness-display device and a multi-fingered haptic interface robot consisting of a five-fingered hand and an arm. Further, we carried out several experiments, the results of which show the validity of the proposed system and its great potential.