02025nas a2200205 4500008004100000022001400041245010300055210006900158300001400227490000700241520141600248653001201664653001301676100001301689700001501702700001801717700001901735700001601754856004901770 2018 eng d a1939-141200aW-FYD: a Wearable Fabric-based Display for Haptic Multi-Cue Delivery and Tactile Augmented Reality0 aWFYD a Wearable Fabricbased Display for Haptic MultiCue Delivery a304 - 3160 v113 a

Despite the importance of softness, there is no evidence of wearable haptic systems able to deliver controllable softness cues. Here, we present the Wearable Fabric Yielding Display (W-FYD), a fabric-based display for multi-cue delivery that can be worn on user's finger and enables, for the first time, both active and passive softness exploration. It can also induce a sliding effect under the finger-pad. A given stiffness profile can be obtained by modulating the stretching state of the fabric through two motors. Furthermore, a lifting mechanism allows to put the fabric in contact with the user's finger-pad, to enable passive softness rendering. In this paper, we describe the architecture of W-FYD, and a thorough characterization of its stiffness workspace, frequency response and softness rendering capabilities. We also computed device Just Noticeable Difference in both active and passive exploratory conditions, for linear and non-linear stiffness rendering as well as for sliding direction perception. The effect of device weight was also considered. Furthermore, performance of participants and their subjective quantitative evaluation in detecting sliding direction and softness discrimination tasks are reported. Finally, applications of W-FYD in tactile augmented reality for open palpation are discussed, opening interesting perspectives in many fields of human-machine interaction.

10aHaptics10aRobotics1 aFani, S.1 aCiotti, S.1 aBattaglia, E.1 aMoscatelli, A.1 aBianchi, M. uhttp://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8003491/02408nas a2200241 4500008004100000245007300041210006900114260001200183520171500195653001201910653001301922100001801935700001601953700001501969700001501984700001401999700001302013700001802026700002002044700001602064700001502080856007102095 2017 eng d00aPostural Hand Synergies during Environmental Constraint Exploitation0 aPostural Hand Synergies during Environmental Constraint Exploita c08/20173 a

Humans are able to intuitively exploit the shape of an object and environmental constraints to achieve stable grasps and perform dexterous manipulations. In doing that, a vast range of kinematic strategies can be observed. However, in this work we formulate the hypothesis that such ability can be described in terms of a synergistic behavior in the generation of hand postures, i.e., using a reduced set of commonly used kinematic patterns. This is in analogy with previous studies showing the presence of such behavior in different tasks, such as grasping. We investigated this hypothesis in experiments performed by six subjects, who were asked to grasp objects from a flat surface. We quantitatively characterized hand posture behavior from a kinematic perspective, i.e., the hand joint angles, in both pre-shaping and during the interaction with the environment. To determine the role of tactile feedback, we repeated the same experiments but with subjects wearing a rigid shell on the fingertips to reduce cutaneous afferent inputs. Results show the persistence of at least two postural synergies in all the considered experimental conditions and phases. Tactile impairment does not alter significantly the first two synergies, and contact with the environment generates a change only for higher order Principal Components. A good match also arises between the first synergy found in our analysis and the first synergy of grasping as quantified by previous work. The present study is motivated by the interest of learning from the human example, extracting lessons that can be applied in robot design and control. Thus, we conclude with a discussion on implications for robotics of our findings.

10aHaptics10aRobotics1 aDella Santina1 aBianchi, M.1 aAverta, G.1 aCiotti, S.1 aArapi, V.1 aFani, S.1 aBattaglia, E.1 aCatalano, M. G.1 aSantello, M1 aBicchi, A. uhttps://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbot.2017.00041/full02880nas a2200229 4500008004100000245015000041210006900191260001200260490000700272520216800279653001202447653001302459100001302472700001602485700001302501700001802514700001402532700001502546700001502561700001602576856005802592 2016 eng d00aAssessment of Myoelectric Controller Performance and Kinematic Behavior of a Novel Soft Synergy-inspired Robotic Hand for Prosthetic Applications0 aAssessment of Myoelectric Controller Performance and Kinematic B c10/20160 v103 a

Myoelectric-artificial limbs can significantly advance the state of the art in prosthetics, since they can be used to control mechatronic devices through muscular activity in a way that mimics how the subjects used to activate their muscles before limb loss. However, surveys indicate that dissatisfaction with the functionality of terminal devices underlies the widespread abandonment of prostheses. We believe that one key factor to improve acceptability of prosthetic devices is to attain human-likeness of prosthesis movements, a goal which is being pursued by research on social and human-robot interactions. Therefore, to reduce early abandonment of terminal devices, we propose that controllers should be designed such as to ensure effective task accomplishment in a natural fashion. In this work, we have analyzed and compared the performance of three types of myoelectric controller algorithms based on surface electromyography to control an under-actuated and multi-degrees of freedom prosthetic hand, the SoftHand Pro. The goal of the present study was to identify the myoelectric algorithm that best mimics the native hand movements. As a preliminary step, we first quantified the repeatability of the SoftHand Pro finger movements and identified the electromyographic recording sites for able-bodied individuals with the highest signal-to-noise ratio from two pairs of muscles, i.e. flexor digitorum superficialis/extensor digitorum communis, and flexor carpi radialis/extensor carpi ulnaris. Able-bodied volunteers were then asked to execute reach-to-grasp movements, while electromyography signals were recorded from flexor digitorum superficialis/extensor digitorum communis as this was identified as the muscle pair characterized by high signal-to-noise ratio and intuitive control. Subsequently, we tested three myoelectric controllers that mapped electromyography signals to position of the SoftHand Pro. We found that a differential electromyography-to-position mapping ensured the highest coherence with hand movements. Our results represent a first step towards a more effective and intuitive control of myoelectric hand prostheses.

10aHaptics10aRobotics1 aFani, S.1 aBianchi, M.1 aJain, S.1 aNeto, Pimenta1 aBoege, S.1 aGrioli, G.1 aBicchi, A.1 aSantello, M uhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5066092/00863nas a2200241 4500008003900000245009000039210006900129260005200198300001200250490008500262653001200347653001300359100001900372700001600391700001400407700001500421700001300436700001700449700001600466700001400482700001500496856011000511 2014 d00aA change in the fingertip contact area induces an illusory displacement of the finger0 achange in the fingertip contact area induces an illusory displac aVersailles, France), June 2014bSpringer-Verlag a72 - 790 vLNCS - Free Preview Haptics: Neuroscience, Devices, Modeling, and Applications10aHaptics10aRobotics1 aMoscatelli, A.1 aBianchi, M.1 aSerio, A.1 aAtassi, Al1 aFani, S.1 aTerekhov, A.1 aHayward, V.1 aErnst, M.1 aBicchi, A. uhttp://95.110.227.16/publications/change-fingertip-contact-area-induces-illusory-displacement-finger.html