HCC: Small: Modular Tactile Feedback for Whole-Body Motion Guidance

University Of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA

Investigators

Abstract

Computers have progressed from their origins as isolated rooms of electronic components to being distributed, highly connected, mobile personal devices that are increasingly intertwined with everyday human experience. But computers haven't yet permeated the domain that is most intuitive and essential for their users, namely that of three-dimensional space and naturalistic human movement. In this research the PI will test the hypothesis that graded whole-body tactile feedback can help humans learn or relearn important body postures and motions. To this end, she will augment commercial human motion tracking with a suit of modular tactile actuators (tactors) that provide spatially-registered naturalistic real-time feedback on the way in which each limb segment should be moved, emulating the light touch of a physical therapist, teacher, or coach. Through collaboration with a clinical researcher the PI will focus in this project on rehabilitation for apraxic stroke patients. Our current understanding of stroke indicates that these patients cannot accurately estimate the pose of their limbs when performing purposeful movements, so the PI will augment their motion practice with continuous tactile guidance about the 3D location and magnitude of any configuration errors. Determining the efficacy of this approach will advance our knowledge of healthy vs. impaired human motor control, and will also improve our understanding of the way in which humans process certain types of tactile signals. Development of the novel modular tactor system will provide insights on the effectiveness of voice-coil tactors and the range of sensations they can create. In the course of testing the project's primary hypothesis, the PI will employ human-subject experiments to determine which system design methods best succeed at helping stroke patients recover. The project will be organized into low- and high-level thrusts, each of which will be spearheaded by a doctoral student. The PI's prior work on haptic contact feedback will help her successfully lead this project, as will the support and resources of relevant experts at the University of Pennsylvania, at nearby Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute, and at Engineering Acoustics, Inc., a leading tactor company. Broader Impacts: This project will have immediate relevance to stroke rehabilitation, with excellent potential for positive impact on society in the longer term through application to a variety of exciting topics in human-centered computing, especially computer-mediated scenarios in human motion guidance, such as athletic motion training and haptic virtual environments. The PI will strive to conduct this research so as to enhance its appeal to students from groups that are typically underrepresented in computer science and engineering, especially women.