A Magnetorheological Elastomer Device for Programmable Actuation and Sensing of Soft Haptic Experiences

Soft and conformable haptics devices have the potential to dynamically change one’s percept of object compliance. With this problem in mind, this work presents the design and initial evaluation of a soft actuator and sensor, built of magnetorheological elastomers (MREs) with a programmable stiffness of 33 – 57 kPa at magnetic fields of 0-5 mT. In addition to its programmable stiffness, the material’s flexibility affords the generation of vibratory feedback. Furthermore, the device can be used as a capacitive sensor to detect a contact and to measure forces between 0.1 – 4.9 N.