Actuators for Haptic and Tactile Stimulation Applications
A special issue of Actuators (ISSN 2076-0825). This special issue belongs to the section "Actuators for Robotics".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 21 April 2025 | Viewed by 897
Special Issue Editors
Interests: microelectronics; micro electromechanical systems mems; energy harvesting
Interests: robotics; human–robot Interaction; tactile perception; multimodal wearable robots; assistive robotics; machine learning
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Sensory substitution devices (SSDs) based on tactile sensation enhance human perception in applications such as assistive technologies. Over the last decade, the utilization of this technology in diverse applications such as robotic surgery, navigation on steering wheel, communication of emotion via internet, human–robot interaction and collaboration has attracted researchers’ attention. Intelligent algorithms have also been developed to enhance perception in SSDs. This has imposed certain challenges in hardware design for tactile actuators such as spatial/temporal resolution, power consumption and, most importantly, scalability and affordability of the suggested techniques.
This Special Issue will present most recent research activities relating to hardware modeling, developments, associated intelligent algorithms/firmware and tactile actuator tests. Common transduction mechanisms such as those that are electromagnetic, piezoelectric, electrotactile and pneumatic will be included, with an emphasis on tactile actuators and test procedures developed in the recent years. We wish to invite researchers from different disciplines to submit their most updated works regarding this topic, which will hopefully derive a holistic approach to improve the success rate in tactile perception with scalable and affordable solutions.
The scope of this Special Issue will focus on the following:
- Design and manufacturing of new tactile actuators;
- Modeling the skin–actuator interface;
- End-user experiences in augmented reality, robotic surgery and manipulation;
- Communication of emotion in cyber-media, automotive informatics, human–robot interaction/collaboration;
- Participatory test scenarios with an emphasis on end-user communities;
- Scalable and affordable engineering design of actuators.
Dr. Ali Mohammadi
Dr. Uriel Martinez-Hernandez
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Actuators is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
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Keywords
- tactile actuators
- tactile perception
- transduction mechanisms
- tactile sensing
- robotics
- manipulation
- human–robot interaction/collaboration
- assistive devices
- autonomous systems
- machine learning
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Planned Papers
The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.
Title: Kinematics and Actuation Requirement Analysis of a Finger-Tip Haptic Device with Virtual Surface Interactions
Authors: Danielle Carr; Carl A. Moore; Rodney Roberts; Ed Colgate
Affiliation: Florida State University
Abstract: Current haptic devices have been criticized for being unable to excel at both ends of the impedance spectrum, making them challenging to operate due to issues of low dexterity. This study focuses on developing a two-degree-of-freedom finger-based haptic interface that utilizes cobotic technology and continuously variable transmissions (CVTs) to address this need. The kinematics of the manipulator’s range of motion compared to the human forefinger is assessed and simulated in MATLAB to determine the device's capability. A discussion regarding the imitation of the finger’s motion in free space while resisting motion perpendicular to virtual surfaces and the creation of virtual masses is then mentioned to provide context on the plan of how using continuously variable transmissions (CVTs) will improve the manipulation of remote objects and surfaces in telemanipulation systems.
Title: Enhancing DMI Interactions by Integrating Haptic Feedback for Intricate Vibrato Technique
Authors: Ziyue Piao, Christian Frisson, Bavo Van Kerrebroeck , Marcelo M. Wanderley
Affiliation: Music Research, McGill University, Montreal H3A 1E3, Canada
Abstract: This paper investigates the integration of force feedback in Digital Musical Instruments (DMI), specifically evaluating the reproduction of intricate vibrato techniques using haptic feedback controllers. We introduce our system for vibrato modulation using force feedback, composed of Bend-aid (a web-based sequencer platform using pre-designed haptic feedback models) and TorqueTuner (an open-source 1 Degree-of-Freedom (DoF) rotary haptic device for generating programmable haptic effects). We designed a formal user study to assess the impact of each haptic mode on user experience in a vibrato mimicry task. Twenty musically trained participants rated their user experience for the three haptic modes (Smooth, Detent, and Spring) using four Likert-scale scores (comfort, flexibility, ease of control, and helpfulness for the task). Finally, we asked participants to share their reflections. Our research indicates that while the Spring mode can help with Light vibrato, preferences for haptic modes vary based on musical training background. This emphasizes the need for adaptable task interfaces and flexible haptic feedback in DMI design.
