KR20190067497A - Haptic feedback apparatus and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a haptic feedback apparatus and a control method thereof. According to the present invention, the haptic feedback apparatus comprises: an elastic band worn on an arm of wrist of a user, wherein a length of a perimeter of the elastic band may be adjusted; a plurality of elastic tubes attached around the elastic band and expanded or contracted; and a control unit controlling the length of the perimeter of the elastic band and the expansion and contraction of the elastic tubes. According to the present invention, when the user touches or moves a virtual object with bare hands in a virtual reality or augmented reality environment, the haptic feedback apparatus may transmit physical feedback on the movement to enhance the immersion and realism.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a haptic feedback device,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a haptic feedback device and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a haptic feedback device and its control method worn on an arm or a wrist part.

In a virtual reality or augmented reality, a user can view a virtual object by using a head-mounted display device, and can also perform a touch operation using a physical interface device. Especially in the real world, gesture recognition technology based on bare hands has been developed considering that human beings mainly use hands and interact with the surrounding environment. Microsoft 'Kinect Sensor' and Leap Motion 'Leap Motion Controller' are well known have.

In the visual part of the manipulation of touching a virtual object, feedback is obtained in a similar degree to the reality through the development of technology. However, in the tactile part, a special haptic feedback device (for example, physical feedback such as a globe based on exoskeleton form or vibration, , It is difficult to give feedback corresponding to the interaction to the user.

H2L 'UnlimitedHand' and 'Myo Gesture Control Armband' of Thalmic Labs, developed as a bare-hand gesture recognition device, are used for gesture recognition by analyzing subtle patterns of muscles due to human hand or finger movements. In the case of 'UnlimitedHand', the feedback of the interaction with a virtual object according to the gesture of the user stimulates the arm muscles in a form similar to the low frequency signal used in physical therapy or uses motor vibration. However, 'UnlimitedHand' has the disadvantage that the electrode pad must be attached to the electrode every time it is used, and the arm muscle stimulation through the electric signal is not natural and is not easy to control. And 'Myo armband' does not provide feedback. The 'Kinect sensor' or 'Leap motion controller' mentioned above gives very good bare-land tracking technology at the current technology level, but it does not provide tactile feedback, which makes it difficult to feel the weight of the virtual object.

Korean Public Patent No. 2012-0055693 (public date: May 31, 2012)

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a haptic feedback device and a control method thereof that can express a weight, a frictional force, a reaction force, etc. when a virtual object is touched or moved.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a haptic feedback device comprising: an elastic band which is worn on a user's arm or wrist and whose circumference is adjusted in length; a plurality of elastic tubes attached to the elastic band to expand or contract, And a controller for controlling the circumferential length of the elastic band and the expansion and contraction of the plurality of elastic tubes.

The haptic feedback device may further include a wire wound around the elastic band, and a wire driver for winding or releasing the wire.

The control unit controls the wire driving unit to adjust the length of the wire wound around the elastic band to adjust the peripheral length of the elastic band.

The wire may be inserted into the elastic band.

The haptic feedback device may further include an air pump for injecting or discharging gas into the plurality of elastic tubes.

The controller may control the air pump to adjust the degree of expansion of the plurality of elastic tubes by adjusting the amount of gas injected into the plurality of elastic tubes.

The control unit may selectively expand or contract the plurality of elastic tubes.

The haptic feedback device may further include a communication unit for receiving haptic information on a virtual object or environment.

The control unit may control the circumferential length of the elastic band and the expansion and contraction of the plurality of elastic tubes in accordance with the haptic information.

The haptic feedback device may include a gesture recognition device for recognizing the gesture of the user.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling a haptic feedback device, the method comprising: receiving haptic information about a virtual object or environment; And controlling a circumferential length of a resilient band to be circumferentially adjusted in length and an inflation contraction of a plurality of resilient tubes to be expanded or contracted around the resilient band.

According to the present invention, when a user touches or moves a virtual object with a bare hand in a virtual reality or an augmented reality environment, physical feedback about movement can be transmitted to enhance immersiveness and real feeling. Especially, when the existing haptic feedback touches or moves a virtual object, it can solve the problem that it can not express the weight, friction, reaction force, and the like. In a real environment, when a user touches or moves an object, it simulates the contraction / relaxation of the arm muscles according to the weight, frictional force, and reaction force of the object. Allowing you to naturally receive tactile feedback without training or learning.

1 is a configuration diagram of a haptic feedback device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a view illustrating an example in which a haptic feedback device according to an embodiment of the present invention is worn on a user's arm.
3 is a view showing an example of the expansion and contraction of the elastic tube according to the present invention.
4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the haptic feeder according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily carry out the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a haptic feedback device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a view illustrating an example in which a haptic feedback device according to an embodiment of the present invention is worn on a user's arm.

1, a haptic feedback device 100 according to the present invention includes a flexible band 110, a wire 120, a plurality of elastic tubes 130, a wire driving unit 140, an air pump 150, 160, a communication unit 170, and a case 180.

The resilient band 110 may be worn on the user's arm or wrist and the circumferential length may be adjusted. The resilient band 110 may be embodied as a resilient material and may be adapted to the thickness of the user's arm or wrist.

The wire 120 may be wrapped around the elastic band 110. Preferably, the wire 120 may be inserted into the elastic band 110. When the wire 120 is inserted into the elastic band 110, it is possible to prevent a user from being injured by friction due to movement of the wire 120 or the like. Of course, it is also possible that the wire 120 is exposed to the outer or inner periphery of the elastic band 110.

The wire driver 140 functions to wind or unwind the wire 120. For example, the wire driving unit 140 includes a bobbin (not shown) on which the wire 120 can be wound and a motor (not shown) that rotates the bobbin so that the wire 120 winds the elastic band 110 Can be adjusted.

When the wire 120 is wound, the elastic band 110 can tighten the user's arm or wrist to contract the arm muscles, and when the wire 120 is released, the arm muscles can be relaxed.

The elastic tube 130 may be embodied as a resilient member that is attached to the periphery of the elastic band 110 and can expand or contract. When the gas such as air is injected into the elastic tube 130, the elastic tube 130 is inflated. On the other hand, when the gas is discharged, the elastic tube 130 is contracted.

The air pump 150 functions to inject or discharge gas into the plurality of elastic tubes 130.

The elastic tube 130 can contract the arm muscles by tightening the user's arms or wrists when the air is inflated and inflated. On the contrary, when the air is discharged, the elastic tube 130 can be contracted to relax the arm muscles.

3 is a view showing an example of the expansion and contraction of the elastic tube according to the present invention.

3 (a) shows an example in which the elastic tube is contracted, and Fig. 3 (b) shows an example in which the elastic tube is contracted.

The controller 160 controls the overall operation of the haptic feedback device 100. The control unit 160 controls the circumferential length of the elastic band 110 and the expansion and contraction of the plurality of elastic tubes 130.

Specifically, the controller 160 controls the wire driving unit 140 to adjust the length of the elastic band 110 by adjusting the length of the wire wound around the elastic band 110.

The control unit 160 may control the air pump 150 to adjust the degree of expansion of the plurality of elastic tubes 130 by adjusting the amount of gas injected into the plurality of elastic tubes 130. 3 (a) and 3 (b) illustrate a case in which a plurality of elastic tubes 130 are simultaneously expanded or contracted. However, according to an embodiment, the controller 160 selectively connects a plurality of elastic tubes 130 It may expand or shrink. For example, it is possible to expand the elastic tube 130 in the direction in which the user swings the arm and control the elastic tube 130 in a direction opposite to the direction in which the arm is swollen, or to keep the elastic tube 130 in a state in which it is maintained.

The communication unit 170 can exchange various information and data with an external device (not shown). The communication unit 170 can receive haptic information about a virtual object or environment from an external device. For this purpose, the communication unit 170 can provide a short-range wireless communication function such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and NFC. Of course, the communication unit 170 may provide a wired communication function through a cable.

The controller 160 controls the circumferential length of the elastic band 110 and the expansion and contraction of the plurality of elastic tubes 130 in response to the haptic information provided from the external device so that the user can feel the weight or the reaction force, It is possible to enhance the user's sense of reality and immersion feeling of a virtual object or environment.

The external device may include a gesture recognition device such as a Kinect sensor or a Leap motion controller. The gesture recognition device may be a device that recognizes a gesture of a user by vision or a gesture of a user through an inertial sensor worn on the user's body. The external device may generate haptic information for effecting interaction with an actual virtual environment or an object according to a gesture of the recognized user, and may provide haptic information to the haptic feedback device 100.

Accordingly, when the external device generates and transmits haptic information for expressing the immersion feeling and the appropriate weight or reaction force for enhancing the real feeling when interacting with the virtual object existing in the virtual reality or the augmented reality, The peripheral length of the band 110 and the expansion and contraction of the plurality of elastic tubes 130 are controlled to tighten or loosen the arms or wrists of the user so as to adjust the pressure intensity against the arm muscles, have.

The case 180 may serve to house and protect components such as the wire driver 140, the air pump 150, the controller 160, and the communication unit 170. [ The shape of the case 180, the components accommodated in the case 180, and the like may vary depending on the embodiment.

Meanwhile, the gesture recognition device that recognizes the user gesture through the inertial sensor or the like may be included in the case 180 included in the haptic feedback device 100 according to the present invention.

4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the haptic feeder according to the present invention.

4, first, the gesture recognition apparatus recognizes the gesture of the user (S410). Then, the gesture recognition apparatus generates haptic information for effecting the interaction with the actual virtual environment or the object to the gesture of the user recognized in operation S410 To the haptic feedback device 100 (S420).

The haptic feedback device 100 controls the circumferential length of the elastic band 110 and the expansion and contraction of the plurality of elastic tubes 130 according to the haptic information so as to tighten or loosen the user's arm or wrist, And adjust the intensity to enhance the sense of the user's feeling (S430).

Embodiments of the present invention include a computer-readable medium having program instructions for performing various computer-implemented operations. The medium records a program for executing the above-described method. The medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, etc., alone or in combination. Examples of such media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks and magnetic tape, optical recording media such as CD and DVD, programmed instructions such as floptical disk and magneto-optical media, ROM, RAM, And a hardware device configured to store and execute the program. Examples of program instructions include machine language code such as those produced by a compiler, as well as high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, Of the right.

100: a haptic feedback device
110: Elastic band
120: wire
130: Elastic tube
140:
150: air pump
160:
170:
180: Case

Claims (12)

A resilient band which is worn on the user's arm or wrist and whose circumferential length is adjusted,
A plurality of elastic tubes attached to the periphery of the elastic band to expand or contract,
A control section for controlling the circumferential length of the elastic band and the expansion and contraction of the plurality of elastic tubes,
And a haptic feedback device. The method of claim 1,
A wire wound around the elastic band, and
A wire driver for winding or releasing the wire,
Further comprising:
Wherein the control unit controls the wire driving unit to adjust a length of the wire wound around the elastic band to adjust a circumference length of the elastic band. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the wire is inserted into the elastic band. The method of claim 1,
An air pump for injecting or discharging a gas into the plurality of elastic tubes;
Further comprising:
Wherein the control unit controls the air pump to adjust the amount of gas injected into the plurality of elastic tubes to adjust the degree of expansion of the plurality of elastic tubes. 5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the controller selectively expands or contracts the plurality of elastic tubes. 6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A communication unit that receives haptic information on a virtual object or environment
Further comprising:
Wherein the control unit controls the circumferential length of the elastic band and the expansion and contraction of the plurality of elastic tubes in accordance with the haptic information. The method of claim 6,
And a gesture recognition device for recognizing the gesture of the user. Receiving haptic information about a virtual object or environment, and
Controlling the peripheral length of the elastic band to be worn on the user's arm or wrist according to the haptic information and adjusting the peripheral length and the expansion and contraction of the plurality of elastic tubes to be expanded or contracted around the elastic band,
And a controller for controlling the haptic feedback device. 9. The method of claim 8,
And controlling a length of a wire wound around the elastic band by winding or loosening a wire wound around the elastic band to adjust a circumference length of the elastic band. 9. The method of claim 8,
And controlling the degree of expansion of the plurality of elastic tubes by adjusting the amount of gas injected into the plurality of elastic tubes by injecting or discharging gas into the plurality of elastic tubes. 11. The method of claim 10,
And selectively expanding or contracting the plurality of elastic tubes. 9. The method of claim 8,
And providing the haptic information according to a gesture of a user recognized by the gesture recognition device.

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