Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
10
Teletaction
Teletaction is the means by which an operator is presented with information about the
texture, local shape, and/or compliance of a remotely located object through the use of a
tactile display system. The ideal teletaction system is one in which the user is provided
with a pattern that is indistinguishable from direct contact.
10.1 Introduction
Although most computer systems are able to provide unrivalled processing capabilities
for standard and routine applications, a human is able to control a device in unknown
or difficult situations more effectively than any computer program due to possessing
greater intuitive feel and superior decision-making capabilities. In order to undertake any
computer or robotic processes that involve one or more of the primary senses, data will
first be required from devices that replicate the senses of sight, sound, smell, taste, and
touch. In order to accomplish this, it is necessary to fabricate a remote sensory device
that is able to transmit to the user stimuli that are identical to that which they would
experience were they to be in
direct
contact with and/or exposed to the medium or object.
For humans, the two most important senses for manipulation tasks are sight and haptics
(the sense of touch). The haptic sense itself comprises two modes, namely the kinesthetic
sense (force, motion) and the tactile sense (touch) of which the latter includes texture,
roughness, softness, temperature, and shape. The main applications for tactile systems are
to be found in the teleoperation and virtual environment (VE) milieu. A tactile interface
is used to reproduce information such as force (static and dynamic), texture, roughness,
temperature, and shape which are important in applications such as telesurgery or when
handling fragile objects during a manipulation process. To implement tactile feedback, the
problems of tactile transduction, signal processing, tactile display, and human perception
must first be considered.
From a biomedical engineering point of view, teletaction is the sensing of a remote
biological tissue and then transmission of this cutaneous (tactile-sensed) information to
the operator's skin (typically the fingertips) [1, 2]. This practice has already been used
in computer-assisted surgery and VEs for training purposes. As previously mentioned,
