@article {2841, title = {An Integrated Approach to Characterize the Behavior of a Human Fingertip in Contact with a Silica Window}, journal = {IEEE Transactions on Haptics}, volume = {10}, year = {2017}, month = {01/2017}, pages = {123-129}, abstract = {

Understanding the mechanisms of human tactual perception represents a challenging task in haptics and humanoid robotics. A classic approach to tackle this issue is to accurately and exhaustively characterize the mechanical behavior of human fingertip. The output of this characterization can then be exploited to drive the design of numerical models, which can be used to investigate in depth the mechanisms of human sensing. In this work, we present a novel integrated measurement technique and experimental set up for in vivo characterization of the deformation of the human fingertip at contact, in terms of contact area, force, deformation, and pressure distribution. The device presented here compresses the participant{\textquoteright}s fingertip against a flat surface, while the aforementioned measurements are acquired and experimental parameters such as velocity, finger orientation, and displacement (indentation) controlled. Experimental outcomes are then compared and integrated with the output of a 3D finite element (FE) model of the human fingertip, built upon existing validated models. The agreement between numerical and experimental data represents a validation for our approach.

}, keywords = {Haptics, Robotics}, issn = {1939-1412}, doi = { 10.1109/TOH.2016.2614679}, url = {http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?arnumber=7579582}, author = {M. L. D{\textquoteright}Angelo and F. Cannella and M. Bianchi and M. D{\textquoteright}Imperio and E. Battaglia and M. Poggiani and G. Rossi and A. Bicchi and D. G. Caldwell} } @conference {2454, title = {Characterization of Nonlinear Finger Pad Mechanics for Tactile Rendering}, booktitle = {IEEE World Haptics Conference}, year = {2015}, note = {

softhands, werahap

}, pages = {63-68}, address = {Chicago, USA, 22-25 June 2015}, abstract = {

The computation of skin forces and deformations for\ tactilerendering\ requires an accurate model of the extremely\ nonlinear\ behavior of the skin. In this work, we investigate the\ characterization\ of\ fingermechanics\ with the goal of designing accurate\ nonlinear\ models for\ tactilerendering. First, we describe a measurement setup that enables the acquisition of contact force and contact area in the context of controlled\ finger\ indentation experiments. Second, we describe an optimization procedure that estimates the parameters of strain-limiting deformation models that match best the acquired data. We show that the acquisition setup allows the measurement of force and area information with high repeatability, and the estimation method reaches\ nonlinear\ models that match the measured data with high accuracy.

}, keywords = {Haptics, Robotics}, doi = {10.1109/WHC.2015.7177692}, url = {http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=\&arnumber=7177692}, author = {E. Miguel and M. L. D{\textquoteright}Angelo and F. Cannella and M. Bianchi and M Memeo and A. Bicchi and D. G. Caldwell and M. A. Otaduy} } @conference {2539, title = {A Finite Element Model of Tactile Flow for Softness Perception}, booktitle = {37th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC2015)}, year = {2015}, note = {

This work was partially supported by the European Research Council under the ERC Advanced Grant no. 291166 SoftHands (A Theory of Soft Synergies for a New Generation of Artificial Hands) and under the grant agreement no. 601165 Wearhap (Wearable Haptics for Humans and Robots), within the FP7/2007-2013 program: Cognitive Systems and Robotics.

}, pages = {2430 - 2433}, publisher = {IEEE}, organization = {IEEE}, address = {Milano, Italy, August 25th-29th, 2015}, keywords = {Haptics, Robotics}, doi = {10.1109/EMBC.2015.7318884}, url = {http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=\&arnumber=7318884}, author = {E. Battaglia and M. Bianchi and M. L. D{\textquoteright}Angelo and M. D{\textquoteright}Imperio and F. Cannella and E. P. Scilingo and A. Bicchi} }