CVD based electrotactile haptic rendering system: Design and testing

In this paper, a recently developed constant-voltage-driver (CVD) based electrotactile haptic rendering system including its electrical driver, rendering display, GUI interface, and system architecture is presented. The developed electrotactile rendering system is capable of producing varying stimulation voltage/current waveforms to fingertip and online identifying the bio-impedance parameters of fingertip skin for individual tactile preference tuning and haptic rendering enhancement. Experimental testing verifies the performance of the developed CVD electrotactile haptic rendering system and the results of both preliminary psychological studies and apparent power output of the system are also demonstrated. The significance of our work is that it will greatly improve the haptic/tactile rendering performance of electrical stimulation (electrotactile) systems and further facilitates their applications.