Scientists at EPFL and ETH Zurich
have just made a major step toward this goal with their new haptic glove, which
is not only lightweight -- under 8 grams per finger -- but also provides
feedback that is extremely realistic. The glove is able to generate up to 40
Newtons of holding force on each finger with just 200 Volts and only a few
milliWatts of power. It also has the potential to run on a very small battery.
That, together with the glove's low form factor (only 2 mm thick), translates
into an unprecedented level of precision and freedom of movement. The
scientists' glove, called DextrES, has been successfully tested on volunteers
in Zurich and will be presented at the upcoming ACM Symposium on User Interface
Software and Technology (UIST).
DextrES is made of nylon with
thin elastic metal strips running over the fingers. The strips are separated by
a thin insulator. When the user's fingers come into contact with a virtual
object, the controller applies a voltage difference between the metal strips
causing them to stick together via electrostatic attraction, this produces a
braking force that blocks the finger's or thumb's movement. Once the voltage is
removed, the metal strips glide smoothly and the user can once again move his
fingers freely. For now the glove is powered by a very thin electrical cable,
but thanks to the low voltage and power required, a very small battery could
eventually be used instead. The system's low power requirement is due to the
fact that it doesn't create a movement, but blocks one.
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