Development of human-touch smart armband for tele-haptic communication using a fabric-based soft pneumatic actuator

This study aimed to develop a human-touch smart armband that can transport emotional tactile stimuli to individuals in distant places. To simulate human touch stimuli, a soft pneumatic actuator (SPA) which we refer to in this study as “SPA touch,” of size 7 cm × 7 cm and thickness 0.3 cm was designed using fabric and silicone with nine touch points, which can be individually inflated and allocated within the actuator. The use of thermoplastic polyurethane-coated fabric as a backing material helps obtain one-side inflation toward the skin effectively. By controlling the position and duration time of the inflation of the nine touch points, three basic touch modes (“Touch,” “Double touch,” and “Drag”) and three emotional tactile gestures (“Patting,” “Hugging,” and “Caressing”) were programmed using Python. The evaluation of the operating performance of the basic touch modes and emotional tactile gestures showed that “SPA touch” could properly create and transmit touch stimulation remotely. The human-touch smart armband developed in the process of this study can be used for novel tele-haptic communication with individuals in distant places, such as nursing homes.