PATCH: Pump-Actuated Thermal Compression Haptics

Haptics in virtual reality has become increasingly important for improving realism and immersiveness. However, matching the complexity of real-world tactile interactions is a challenging problem due to the complexity of our sense of touch. Motivated by the recognition that multi-modal haptic feedback is needed to fully recreate human touch, we created PATCH, a Pump-Actuated Thermal Compression Haptic device for presenting simultaneous thermal and compression cues. The system uses water of varying temperature to provide compression cues and transfer heat to or from the user's skin. The wearable component of the system is constructed solely of soft, flexible components. When compared to an established, unimodal, pressure-based haptic device, the PATCH system was found to perform similarly in terms of recognition and saliency, but it was rated more favorably in terms of wearability. The PATCH device can display temperatures ranging from 17° C to 42° C, fitting the desired temperatures with an R2 = 0.75, and can display pulsed cues at a rate of 0.22 Hz. The success of our PATCH system can serve to inform the development of the next generation of multi-modal haptic devices.