Artificial Fingers Wearing Skin Vibration Sensor for Evaluating Tactile Sensations*

Abstract

Tactile sensations are based on stimulation elicited on the skin through mechanical interaction between the skin and an object. It is important to consider skin properties in addition to the object. We developed a wearable skin vibration sensor and previously showed the availability for texture evaluations. However, the sensor output is not reproducible because human skin cannot maintain the same condition. Thus, we propose using artificial fingers. The artificial finger is worn on a human finger and the skin vibration sensor is wrapped on the artificial finger in the same way as the sensor would be mounted on a human finger. The artificial finger consists of a rigid base, a soft layer, and a thin layer having ridge on the surface, and can be easily exchanged to other finger with different properties. Experiments with different artificial fingers for particle surfaces show that the sensor output has a relation with particle size, and the height of the ridge influences the intensity of the sensor output and the groove width influences the peak frequency and the measuring range. Results indicate that the proposed artificial finger might be useful for tactile evaluations, reflecting different skin properties and customizing towards target objects and users.