Wearable Air-Jet Force Feedback Device without Exoskeletal Structure and Its Application to Elastic Ball Rendering

Various haptic devices for application to virtual reality have been developed. Most of them have to be stationary on a desk, thus users cannot move around. To overcome this shortcoming, exoskeletal haptic devices have been developed. However, they also have shortcomings such as discomfort caused by the reaction force of the presented haptic force in another part of the body. In addition, the limited range of motion caused by exoskeleton structure is also a problem. Therefore, in this research, we propose a wearable device without an exoskeletal structure that uses airjet to provide force feedback. In this study, ω-jet, a prototype for the finger joints, was developed, and its basic characteristics were evaluated. Moreover, the prototype was evaluated based on its performance in an elastic ball presentation experiment. The results confirmed that the proposed device was capable of rendering virtual balls of different sizes and stiffness.