Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 12.8
Photo of an actuated tile with large mens' shoe, showing representative size. The model
shown is based on the low-cost force sensing resistor option. The cable in the foreground interfaces
the sensors with the data acquisition unit
computation units might be too large and cumbersome to be located on the wearable
device itself, requiring their offload to other parts of the body.
Papetti et al. [
77
] addressed the design of multimodal actuated shoes through a
first prototype delivering vibrotactile and acoustic signals. This device is illustrated in
Fig.
12.9
. Force data acquisition is made through two force sensing resistors (Interlink
FSR model 402) located under the insole, one at the toe and one at the heel position.
Vibrotactile feedback is produced by two vibrotactile transducers embedded in the
front and the rear of the shoe sole respectively [
16
] (Haptuator, Tactile Labs Inc.,
Deux-Montagnes, Qc, Canada). Two cavities were made in the soles to accommodate
these broadband vibrotactile actuators. These electromagnetic recoil-type actuators
have an operational, linear bandwidth of 50-500 Hz and can provide up to 3G of
acceleration when connected to light loads. They were bonded in place to ensure good
transmission of the vibrations inside the soles. When activated, vibrations propagated
Fig. 12.9
Photo of the actuated shoes [
77
] with loudspeakers mounted on the
top
. The cable in the
foreground interfaces the sensors in the shoes with the data acquisition unit
