Haptic Relocation of Virtual Finger Forces via Pneumatic Wrist-Worn Haptic Devices

Relocation of finger interaction forces in a virtual environment is enabled using soft, 3D-printed, pneumatic wrist-worn haptic devices called Hoxels, which display up to 20 N of force normal to the skin. Due to off-board pumps and flexible pneumatic transmission lines, the worn mass of a pair of Hoxels is only 75 grams. We performed a user study in which participants grasped and moved a cube in a virtual environment, with virtual interaction forces displayed to the wrist. Dual-tactor and single-tactor relocated haptic feedback reduced grasp forces compared no haptic feedback. This lays the foundation for multi-degree-of-freedom feedback to the wrist, leaving the fingers unencumbered for mixed reality applications.