面向触觉力反馈的可穿戴柔性执行器研究现状

随着最新一代电子产业在可穿戴性、轻便性、舒适性等方面的需求,近年来基于柔性电子材料的执行器设计制造技术已成为商业消费电子和科研领域关注的热点。柔性执行器由柔性材料加工制作,与刚性执行器相比具有更优的轻薄性、柔韧性和适形性,在可穿戴设备的触觉力反馈中可对皮肤产生多种深浅、节拍和加速度可控的多点作用力,协同产生捏、按、拉等触觉行为,并且整体装置轻巧便捷。分类综述针对触觉力反馈的柔性执行器技术,从主体材料和驱动原理两方面对柔性执行器的工作机制和优缺点进行总结,分析了柔性执行器在虚拟现实、教育培训、医疗辅助等领域的应用情况和潜在价值。对用于实现触觉力反馈的柔性执行器的问题和研究难点进行了总结,并得出设计出安全、舒适、美观、安静等性能优良的柔性执行器是促进未来人机交互的研究突破点。

Research status of wearable and flexible actuators for haptic force feedback

The development of the latest generation of electronic industry has requirements of wearable, portability, comfort, etc. Inrecent years, the design and fabrication based on flexible actuators have become the state of the art in the field of commercial consumerelectronics and scientific research. Compared with rigid actuators, flexible actuators are more portable, flexible, and easier to beconformal to human skin. With these characteristics, flexible actuators show the great potentials in human-machine interfaces, such ascreating a variety of haptic feedbacks which mimic the sense of real touch (knead, press, and pull). In addition, the whole devices canbe made with portable and cost-effective process. The research and development of flexible actuators used for haptic force feedback areanalyzed from the functional materials and their correspondingly working principle in this review. Different working mechanisms arediscussed based on their advantages and disadvantages of flexible actuators. In addition, the paper concludes the potential applications offlexible actuators in augmented reality, virtual reality, education, and medical assistance, etc. The existing difficulties of flexibleactuators used to achieve haptic force feedback are also summarized. Flexible actuators with safe, comfortable, portable, beautiful, andquiet characteristics are key features to be merged with future human-machine interfaces.