WO2021179563A1

WO2021179563A1 - Somatosensory tactile device

Info

Publication number: WO2021179563A1
Application number: PCT/CN2020/115925
Authority: WO
Inventors: 石叶; 于元隆
Original assignee: 南京科沃斯机器人技术有限公司
Priority date: 2020-03-11
Filing date: 2020-09-17
Publication date: 2021-09-16
Also published as: CN113391696A; CN113391696B

Abstract

Provided is a somatosensory tactile device. The somatosensory tactile device comprises a flexible circuit board, an IPMC elastic layer and a strain elastic layer, wherein the flexible circuit board is arranged between the IPMC elastic layer and the strain elastic layer, and the IPMC elastic layer comprises a plurality of IPMC structures. The somatosensory tactile device provided in the embodiments of the present application is of a new type, and is capable of improving the precision of somatosensory tactile sensation.

Description

Somatosensory device

cross reference

This application is cited in the Chinese Patent Application No. 202010167928.4 named "Somatosensory Tactile Device" filed on March 11, 2020, which is fully incorporated into this application by reference.

Technical field

This application belongs to the technical field of smart devices, and particularly relates to a somatosensory device.

Background technique

Tactile sense is one of the important sensations for humans to communicate with the external environment. Somatosensory tactile devices are designed to help humans or robots have a sense of reality when touching objects. For example, in a VR scene, the experiencer can use visual experience to experience the interaction of virtual reality, but the user lacks a sense of immersion. The somatosensory device can help the experiencer produce corresponding tactile sensation when touching a virtual object, increasing the experience immersion.

At this stage, the main ways to produce tactile sensations in the human body are electrical stimulation and mechanical stimulation. The former is to stimulate the skin through current pulses to stimulate nerve and sensory fibers to generate somatosensory stimulation. It has complex equipment, poor operation safety, and generated tactile sensations. The type is limited and uncontrollable; the latter stimulates the skin through electric or magnetic vibration, and its tactile sensation is limited to vibration. The vibration sensation is not delicate enough, and the tactile sensation that can be simulated is also very limited.

Summary of the invention

In view of this, an embodiment of the present application provides a somatosensory tactile device, which includes a flexible circuit board, an IPMC elastic layer, and a strain elastic layer, the flexible circuit board being arranged between the IPMC elastic layer and the strain elastic layer , The IPMC elastic layer includes multiple IPMC structures.

Further, at least one strain gauge is provided in the strain elastic layer.

Further, the strain elastic layer includes a first elastic body, and the at least one strain gauge is provided in the first elastic body.

Further, the IPMC elastic layer includes a second elastic body, and the multiple IPMC structures are provided on a side of the second elastic body that faces away from the flexible circuit board.

Further, it further includes a flexible waterproof layer, which is provided on the side of the second elastic body facing away from the flexible circuit board, and covers the plurality of IPMC structures.

Further, the material of the flexible waterproof layer includes silica gel.

Furthermore, the outer surface of each IPMC structure is covered with a waterproof layer.

Further, each of the IPMC structural parts is fixed to the second elastic body.

Further, the degree of bending of the IPMC structure is adjusted according to the actual pressure data on the IPMC structure and the expected pressure data that should be applied to the IPMC structure.

Further, the actual pressure data on the IPMC structure is obtained from the strain gauge.

Further, the expected pressure data that should be applied to the IPMC structure is obtained through machine learning.

The embodiments of the present application provide a new type of somatosensory tactile device, which combines the IPMC structure with tactile sensing technology, so that the accuracy of somatosensory sense is higher, and the use experience of the somatosensory tactile device is improved.

Description of the drawings

In order to more clearly describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings that need to be used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the drawings in the following description These are some embodiments of the present application. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

The drawings described here are used to provide a further understanding of the application and constitute a part of the application. The exemplary embodiments and descriptions of the application are used to explain the application, and do not constitute an improper limitation of the application. In the attached picture:

Figure 1 is an exploded schematic view of a cross-sectional structure of a somatosensory device provided by the first embodiment of the application;

2 is an exploded schematic diagram of another cross-sectional structure of a somatosensory device provided by the first embodiment of this application;

3 is a structural control block diagram of a somatosensory device provided by the first embodiment of this application;

4 is a schematic diagram of a three-dimensional structure of an IPMC structure of a somatosensory device provided by the first embodiment of this application;

5 is an exploded schematic diagram of another cross-sectional structure of a somatosensory device provided by the first embodiment of the application;

6 is a method flowchart of a somatosensory control method provided by the second embodiment of this application;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of another method of a somatosensory control method provided by the second embodiment of this application;

FIG. 8 is a flow chart of another method of the somatosensory control method provided by the second embodiment of this application.

Detailed ways

The implementation of this application will be described in detail below with the accompanying drawings and embodiments, so as to fully understand and implement the implementation process of how this application uses technical means to solve technical problems and achieve technical effects.

For example, certain words are used in the description and claims to refer to specific components. Those skilled in the art should understand that hardware manufacturers may use different terms to refer to the same component. This specification and claims do not use differences in names as a way of distinguishing components, but use differences in functions of components as a criterion for distinguishing. If the "include" mentioned in the entire specification and claims is an open term, it should be interpreted as "include but not limited to". "Approximately" means that within the acceptable error range, those skilled in the art can solve the technical problem within a certain error range, and basically achieve the technical effect. In addition, the term "coupled" or "electrically connected" herein includes any direct and indirect electrical coupling means. Therefore, if it is described in the text that a first device is coupled to a second device, it means that the first device can be directly electrically coupled to the second device, or indirectly electrically coupled through other devices or coupling means. Connected to the second device. The subsequent description of the specification is a preferred embodiment for implementing the application, but the description is for the purpose of explaining the general principles of the application, and is not intended to limit the scope of the application. The protection scope of this application shall be subject to those defined by the appended claims.

It should also be noted that the terms "include", "include" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, product or system including a series of elements not only includes those elements, but also includes Other elements that are not explicitly listed, or include elements inherent to the process, method, commodity, or system. If there are no more restrictions, the element defined by the sentence "including a..." does not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the process, method, product, or system that includes the element.

Specific embodiment

At present, the somatosensory devices on the market mainly act on the human body's tactile stimulation from the outside. There are two types of external stimulation, one is electrical stimulation, and the other is mechanical stimulation (tactile somatosensory stimulation). The former refers to stimulating the skin with current pulses to stimulate nerve and sensory fibers to produce somatosensory stimulation. This method generally requires high equipment performance, expensive, complex equipment, low operating safety, uncontrollable touch, and tactile sensation. The type of has limitations. Tactile stimulation is to stimulate the skin (finger) through electric or magnetic vibrations, etc. This method is safer, does not require a complete set of professional equipment, and has a higher degree of acceptance and promotion.

Electroactive polymer material (Electro Active Polymer, EAP) is a new type of flexible drive material that can produce large size and shape changes under the action of an excitation signal. Ionic Polymer-Metal Composites (IPMC) is the most representative type of EAP materials. It is a composite material in which metal electrodes are reduced and deposited on the surface of a polymer film. Due to its high efficiency in the conversion process of electrical and mechanical energy, lower driving voltage can produce larger deformation, and at the same time, it has the advantages of flexibility, rapid response, and biocompatibility that mechanical devices do not have, so it is gradually being used. A new type of actuator for robots. IPMC has been widely used in the field of robotics due to its advantages of light weight, small size, no noise, and fast response. At this stage, the main application is as an artificial muscle to simulate human muscle contraction for the development of prostheses, and as a manipulator's claw For grasping, for swinging the dorsal and caudal fins of robotic fish, and for capsule robots used in the medical field for propulsion, there is no relevant application in the field of tactile generation.

The embodiments of the present application mainly provide a somatosensory tactile device and a control method thereof, wherein the somatosensory tactile device utilizes the high efficiency of the electrical and mechanical energy conversion process of IPMC, and can generate a large amount of deformation under a lower driving voltage. , It has the advantages of small and light weight, concentrated functions, and can produce continuous force changes. Therefore, this application uses the above-mentioned characteristics of IPMC to apply it to the simulation of tactile sensation when humans are not in contact with objects.

The first embodiment

Please refer to FIG. 1, which is an exploded schematic view of a cross-sectional structure of a somatosensory device according to a first embodiment of this application, wherein the somatosensory device includes a flexible circuit board 10, an IPMC elastic layer 20, and a strain elastic layer 30. The flexible circuit board 10 is disposed between the IPMC elastic layer 20 and the strain elastic layer 30, and the IPMC elastic layer 20 includes a plurality of IPMC structures 210.

Here, the flexible circuit board 10 is a printed circuit board made of polyimide or polyester film as a base material, which has the advantages of high wiring density, light weight, thin thickness, and good bendability. The flexible circuit board 10 is sandwiched between the IPMC elastic layer 20 and the strain elastic layer 30; the arrangement of the multiple IPMC structures 210 in the IPMC elastic layer 20 on the IPMC elastic layer 20 It can be set according to the actual situation. Generally, the multiple IPMC structures 210 are arranged in an array in the IPMC elastic layer 20. In addition, the shape of the IPMC structure can also be selected according to the actual situation. The flexible circuit board 10 is electrically connected, and the flexible circuit board 10 is also electrically connected to an external power source. The external power source is used to provide power to the flexible circuit board 10, and the flexible circuit board 10 can When a voltage is applied in the thickness direction of the IPMC structure 210, the IPMC structure 210 will deform. For example, a certain amount of bending will cause the IPMC elastic layer 20 to deform accordingly. The flexible circuit board 10, the The IPMC elastic layer 20 and the strain elastic layer 30 form a tightly stacked sandwich. Since the three have good bending performance, the bending deformation of any structure will drive the other two structures to deform, namely The IPMC elastic layer 20 will drive the flexible circuit board 10 and the strained elastic layer 30 to deform accordingly.

In actual use, a processor or controller electrically connected to the flexible circuit board 10 will issue an actuation instruction to the IPMC structure 210, where the processor or controller may be electrically connected to the flexible circuit board 10. The external processor or controller that is sexually connected can also be a processor or controller integrated on the flexible circuit board 10; the IPMC structure 210 executes the actuation instruction to undergo corresponding deformation, thereby driving the IPMC elastic layer Since the flexible circuit board 10, the IPMC elastic layer 20, and the strained elastic layer 30 are stacked, the flexible circuit board 10 and the strained elastic layer 30 are also deformed. At that time, the strain elastic layer 30 will measure the pressure data. After obtaining the pressure data, the processor or controller compares it with the expected pressure data of touching the object in the real scene, and adjusts the actuation instruction according to the comparison result. This in turn causes the IPMC structure 210 to perform a corresponding deformation after the adjusted actuation command, and re-drives the IPMC elastic layer 20, the flexible circuit board 10, and the strain elastic layer 30 to deform. At this time, the The strain elastic layer 30 measures the pressure data again, compares the pressure data with the expected pressure data again, and adjusts the actuation command according to the comparison result until the pressure data measured again is consistent with the expected pressure data of touching the object in the real scene; Here, adjusting the actuation command according to the above pressure data comparison result may specifically be: if the pressure data measured by the strain elastic layer 30 is greater than the expected pressure data, then the bending of the IPMC structure 210 needs to be reduced at this time. At this time, the actuation command can be adjusted to reduce the actuation amplitude; on the contrary, if the pressure data measured by the strain elastic layer 30 is less than the expected pressure data, then the bending of the IPMC structure 210 needs to be increased at this time At this time, the actuation command can be adjusted to increase the actuation amplitude; it is conceivable that if the pressure data measured by the strain elastic layer 30 is equal to the expected pressure data, then the bending degree of the IPMC structure 210 is just right, then There is no need to adjust the actuation command.

Wherein, the sensor unit electrically connected to the somatosensory device obtains the user's motion data, posture data and other virtual scene reaction data, and transmits the reaction data to the processor or controller for processing and combines machine learning to obtain the real scene The expected pressure data of the user touching the object.

In this embodiment, through the feedback of the strain elastic layer 30, the actuation command can be adjusted, so that the IPMC structure 210 is deformed according to the adjusted actuation command, and the pressure at this time is similar to that in the real scene. The pressure of touching the real object is kept consistent, which improves the accuracy of somatosensory sensation, makes the types of somatosensory sensation more abundant, and improves the experience of using the somatosensory haptic device.

2 is an exploded schematic view of another cross-sectional structure of a somatosensory device provided by the first embodiment of this application. In one of the preferred implementations of the embodiment of this application, the strain elastic layer 30 At least one strain gauge 310 is provided. The strain gauge 310 is used to measure the pressure data of the strain elastic layer 30 when the strain elastic layer 30 is deformed, that is, the pressure data measured by the strain elastic layer 30 mentioned above is determined by the strain elastic layer 30 At least one of the strain gauges 310 is measured.

Please refer to FIG. 3, which is a structural control block diagram of a somatosensory tactile device provided by the first embodiment of this application. The strain gauge 310 can have a closed-loop control when the somatosensory device is used, which is useful for the subsequent generation of tactile sensations. More precise control provides a guarantee for achieving higher-precision and full-featured tactile sensations, such as feeling the hardness and roughness of virtual objects, and even the feeling of breeze and flowing water. As shown in Figure 3,

Represents the true tactile sensation (force) of touching the object, that is, the expected value of the tactile sensation, which can also be understood as the standard pressure data mentioned above, ΔF represents the correction amount between the actual value measured by the strain gauge and the expected value, and F represents the strain gauge 310 Actual measured actual value.

Please refer to FIG. 4, which is a schematic diagram of a three-dimensional structure of the IPMC structure of a somatosensory device provided by the first embodiment of this application. Each of the plurality of IPMC structures 210 includes a polymer film layer 2101 and two electrode layers 2102. The two electrode layers 2102 are respectively disposed on two opposite sides of the polymer film layer 2101.

Specifically, the polymer film layer 2101 is located in the middle layer, and the upper and lower layers are respectively the electrode layer 2102. The polymer film layer 2101 contains polymer molecular chains, water molecules, and cations. Under the same voltage drive, the output force and deformation of different ions are different, and the effects of "Pt ion" and "Na ion" are the most significant. Experiments show that the surface resistance of the IPMC structure 210 is closely related to the output capability of the IPMC structure 210. When a voltage is applied to the thickness direction of the IPMC structure 210, that is, the two electrode layers 2102, the IPMC structure 210 will produce a large amount of deformation and bend toward the anode (a direct phenomenon). On the contrary, when the IPMC structure 210 is bent and deformed by an external force, the IPMC structure 210 will also generate a voltage in the thickness direction (a reverse phenomenon). Therefore, the IPMC structure 210 is an electromechanical coupling system.

Further, in order to ensure that the IPMC structure 210 has better conductivity and stability, and to reduce the thickness of the electrode to a certain extent without affecting its bending performance, the electrode layer 2102 here generally selects noble metal materials. That is, the materials of the two electrode layers include any one of platinum, silver, and gold.

In addition, according to the actual pressure data on the IPMC structure 210 and the expected pressure data that should be applied on the IPMC structure 210, the degree of bending of the IPMC structure 210 is adjusted. Specifically, when the IPMC structure 210 is deformed, it will drive the IPMC elastic layer 20 to deform, which in turn will drive the strained elastic layer 30 to undergo corresponding deformation. At this time, the strained elastic layer 30 will measure correspondingly. The pressure data is the actual pressure data on the IPMC structure 210. This pressure data is to be compared with the expected pressure data on the IPMC structure 210, and the degree of curvature of the IPMC structure 210 is adjusted according to the comparison result. How to adjust the bending degree of the IPMC structure 210 according to the comparison result can refer to the description of the above embodiment. Here, the expected pressure data on the IPMC structure 210 refers to when the IPMC structure 210 reaches the desired degree of bending. Corresponding pressure data, and when the IPMC structure 210 reaches the desired degree of bending, the somatosensory device will be consistent with the pressure data of touching objects in the real scene when the somatosensory device is in contact with the user’s body. The types of tactile sensations are more abundant, which improves the experience of using somatosensory tactile devices.

Further, in one of the embodiments of the present application, the strain gauge 310 obtains the actual pressure data on the IPMC structure 210. Specifically, the IPMC structure 210 drives the IPMC elasticity when bending and deforming. The layer 20 is bent and deformed, which in turn drives the flexible circuit board 10 and the strain elasticity 30 to bend and deform. When the strain elasticity 30 is bent and deformed, the strain gauge 310 inside it will measure corresponding pressure data. This pressure data is the actual pressure data on the IPMC structure 210.

In addition, in another implementation manner of the embodiment of the present application, the expected pressure data that should be applied to the IPMC structure 210 is obtained through machine learning. As mentioned above, the expected pressure data that should be applied to the IPMC structure 210 refers to the pressure data of touching a real object in a real scene, and the expected pressure data is obtained by the sensor unit of the somatosensory device and used in a virtual scene. The movement data, posture data and other reaction data of the user, and then the processor processes these data and obtains the tactile pressure data when the reaction data touches a real object according to machine learning. What needs to be emphasized here is that through a large amount of machine learning, when When the reaction data in a virtual scene is input, the corresponding tactile pressure data when the reaction data touches a real object will be output.

Please refer to FIG. 5, which is an exploded schematic view of another cross-sectional structure of a somatosensory device provided by the first embodiment of this application. The strain elastic layer 30 includes a first elastic body 320, and the at least one strain gauge 310 is provided in the The first elastic body 320 is described.

Specifically, the strain elastic layer 30 includes the strain gauge 310 and the first elastic body 320, and the first elastic body 320 is tightly connected to the side of the flexible circuit board 10 facing away from the IPMC elastic layer 20, The strain gauge 310 is embedded in the first elastic body 320. When the first elastic body 320 is deformed, the strain gauge 310 also follows the deformation, and the pressure data during the deformation is measured.

Further, the somatosensory tactile device further includes a base layer 40 provided on the side of the first elastic body 320 away from the flexible circuit board 10.

Specifically, the base layer 40 is the bottom layer of the somatosensory device, the base layer 40 is tightly connected to the side of the first elastic body 320 away from the flexible circuit board 10, and the base layer 40 is Other structures of the somatosensory device play a supporting role, so the base layer 40 needs to have a certain degree of hardness; at the same time, the base layer 40 has a certain degree of bending performance.

Furthermore, the base layer 40 is made of PVC material with a threshold hardness. The PVC material here is only an example. The threshold hardness mainly takes into account the supporting structure of the base layer 40, which can be based on Materials with different hardnesses are selected for the specific use parts and required bending performance of the somatosensory device.

In addition, referring to FIG. 5, the IPMC elastic layer 20 includes a second elastic body 220, and the multiple IPMC structures 210 are provided on a side of the second elastic body 220 that faces away from the flexible circuit board 10.

Specifically, the second elastic body 220 is tightly connected to the side of the flexible circuit board 10 that faces away from the strain elastic layer 30. The second elastic body 220 here can provide the plurality of IPMC structures 210 with a certain The elastic carrier board allows the plurality of IPMC structures 210 to be fixed on the side of the second elastic body 220 away from the flexible circuit board 10, so that when the IPMC structure 210 is deformed, the second elastic body can be driven 220 deforms, which in turn drives the entire IPMC elastic layer 20 to deform, and transmits the deformation to the flexible circuit board 10 and then to the strained elastic layer 30.

In other preferred embodiments of the present application, in order to obtain a better tactile feeling, each of the IPMC structures 210 is partially fixed on the second elastic body 220, so as to satisfy the bending of the somatosensory device in use. need.

Further, the somatosensory device further includes a flexible waterproof layer 50 which is provided on the side of the second elastic body 220 facing away from the flexible circuit board 10 and covers the plurality of IPMC structures 210.

Specifically, the flexible waterproof layer 50 is the outermost layer of the somatosensory device, and is tightly connected above the plurality of IPMC structures 210, so that the plurality of IPMC structures 210 are sandwiched between the flexible waterproof layer 50 and Between the second elastomer 220, the polymer film in the IPMC structure 210 has a large amount of water, and water molecules are easily lost during the process of electrification and actuation, which makes the IPMC structure 210 dehydrated and affects its use. The flexible waterproof layer 50 is provided on the surface of the IPMC structure 210 to effectively prevent moisture loss, and at the same time to ensure the bending performance of the IPMC structure 210.

Furthermore, the flexible waterproof layer 50 is made of silica gel, that is, the flexible waterproof layer 50 is a silica gel layer. The use of silica gel for the flexible waterproof layer 50 here is just an example. The silica gel layer generally adopts a threshold thickness. Made of silicone material, mainly considering that it cannot affect the bending deformation performance of the IPMC structure 210, it can be selected according to the specific use part of the somatosensory device and the bending deformation performance required by the IPMC structure 210. Silica gel.

In addition, in other preferred embodiments of the present application, in order to prevent moisture loss of the IPMC structure 210 and improve its performance, the outer surface of each IPMC structure 210 is covered with a waterproof layer (not shown in the figure). show). Here, the outer surface of each IPMC structure 210 is covered by a layer of the waterproof layer. Such a design can effectively prevent the water molecules in the polymer film of the IPMC structure 210 from being lost during the energized actuation process, and avoid The performance of the IPMC structure 210 is affected by dehydration.

Second embodiment

Referring to FIG. 6, which is a method flowchart of a somatosensory control method according to a second embodiment of this application, wherein the somatosensory control method includes:

Step S200, the controller sends an actuation instruction to the IPMC structure in the IPMC elastic layer;

In step S300, the IPMC structure is deformed correspondingly according to the actuation command, and the IPMC elastic layer and the strained elastic layer are driven to deform;

Step S400, the strain gauge in the strained elastic layer acquires pressure data when the strained elastic layer is deformed;

In step S500, the controller adjusts the actuation instruction according to the pressure data and the desired pressure data.

Specifically, in step S200, the controller and the IPMC structure in the IPMC elastic layer issue an actuation instruction. The actuation instruction refers to an instruction that can cause the IPMC structure to move. Bending deformation occurs, and the specific actuation instruction may be: for example, the controller controls the power supply of the somatosensory device to apply voltages of corresponding magnitudes to the two electrodes of the IPMC structure.

Continuing the above-mentioned step S200, in step S300, the IPMC structure will be bent and deformed correspondingly after receiving the actuation command. Since the IPMC structure is provided in the IPMC elastic layer, the IPMC elasticity is driven. The layers are bent and deformed together. Since the IPMC elastic layer and the strained elastic layer are closely laminated and connected, the strained elastic layer will also be bent and deformed together, that is, the IPMC structure executes the actuation command to drive the IPMC elastic layer And the strained elastic layer is deformed together.

Continuing the above-mentioned step S300, in step S400, during the deformation of the strained elastic layer, the strain gauges in the strained elastic layer will monitor the pressure data in real time. The pressure data here means that the strained elastic layer is The internal pressure data during deformation, since the pressure of the strain gauge is brought about by the deformation of the IPMC structure, it can measure the pressure actually felt by the user.

Continuing the above step S400, in step S500, after obtaining the pressure data, the strain gauge transmits the pressure data to the controller. After receiving the pressure data, the controller will The pressure data and the desired pressure data are used to adjust the actuation instruction. Specifically, the pressure data is compared with the standard pressure data of touching the object in the real scene. If the pressure data measured by the strain gauge is greater than the standard Pressure data, then the bending deformation degree of the IPMC structure needs to be reduced at this time. At this time, the actuation command can be adjusted to reduce the actuation amplitude; on the contrary, if the pressure data measured by the strain gauge is less than the standard pressure data At this time, it is necessary to increase the degree of bending deformation of the IPMC structure. At this time, the actuation command can be adjusted to increase the actuation amplitude; it is conceivable that if the pressure data measured by the strain gauge is equal to the standard pressure data, Then the degree of bending deformation of the IPMC structure is just right, and there is no need to adjust the actuation command. In this embodiment, the actual pressure data applied to the user is measured through the feedback mechanism of the strain gauge, and the actual pressure data is measured according to the The actual pressure data adjusts the actuation command,

Further, please refer to FIG. 7 for another method flowchart of a somatosensory control method according to the second embodiment of this application. This embodiment is based on the above method embodiments, and the somatosensory control method also include:

In step S500, the IPMC structure drives the IPMC elastic layer to deform according to the adjusted actuation command.

Specifically, after the actuation instruction is adjusted by the method in the above embodiment, the controller transmits the adjusted actuation instruction to the IPMC structure, and the IPMC structure is based on the adjusted actuation instruction. The command generates deformation and bending, and drives the IPMC elastic layer and the strained elastic layer to deform, so that the pressure data measured by the strain gauges in the strained elastic layer is consistent with the pressure data of the real object in the real scene , Improve the accuracy of somatosensory tactile sensation, make the types of somatosensory tactile sensation more abundant, and improve the use experience of somatosensory tactile device.

Further, please refer to FIG. 8 for another method flowchart of a somatosensory control method provided by the second embodiment of this application. This embodiment is based on the above method embodiments, and in step S200, the controller sends IPMC Before the IPMC structure in the elastic layer issues an actuation command, the somatosensory control method further includes:

In step S100, the controller processes the user's response data in the virtual scene combined with machine learning to obtain the user's tactile data in the real scene, and generates the actuation instruction.

Specifically, in step S100, the sensor unit electrically connected to the somatosensory device can obtain the user's motion data, posture data and other virtual scene reaction data, and transmit the reaction data to the controller for processing. Then, the processing result is combined with machine learning to obtain the user's tactile data in the real scene, and the controller generates the actuation instruction according to the obtained tactile data.

Application Examples

The somatosensory device in the embodiment of this application can be used for wearable devices in a VR scene, specifically including but not limited to clothes, or helmets, or gloves, etc. Here, gloves are taken as an example for this application embodiment. illustrate.

The somatosensory device of the present application is used for the fingertips of tactile gloves. The user puts on the gloves and touches a virtual object in the VR scene. At this time, a sensor unit (such as a posture sensor) in the glove acquires the user in the VR scene. Hand movement data, posture data and other reaction data, at this time, the controller processes the acquired reaction data and obtains the tactile pressure data when the reaction data touches a real object according to machine learning. What needs to be emphasized here is through a large amount of machine learning When the reaction data in a virtual scene is input, the corresponding tactile pressure data when the reaction data touches a real object is output, and the controller generates corresponding actuation instructions according to the tactile pressure data, such as controlling the somatosensory The power supply of the haptic device applies a voltage to the thickness direction of the IPMC structure in the device, and the IPMC structure will be bent and deformed, which will further drive the bending deformation of the IPMC elastic layer. The IPMC elastic layer transfers the bending deformation to the strained elastic layer, causing all The strained elastic layer also follows its bending deformation. At this time, the strain gauge in the strained elastic layer will measure the pressure data of its bending deformation. After the strain gauge obtains the pressure data, the controller will The pressure data is compared with the expected pressure data of touching the object in the real scene, where the expected pressure of touching the object in the real scene is obtained in real time according to the sensor unit (such as the posture sensor) of the user's hand movement data in the VR scene, The posture data and other response data are calculated. When the pressure data measured by the strain gauge is greater than the expected pressure data, then the bending deformation degree of the IPMC structure needs to be reduced at this time, and the actuation command reduction can be adjusted at this time. Small actuation amplitude; on the contrary, if the pressure data measured by the strain gauge is less than the expected pressure data, then the bending deformation degree of the IPMC structure needs to be increased at this time, and the actuation command can be adjusted to increase the actuation Amplitude; In addition, if the pressure data measured by the strain gauge is equal to the expected pressure data, then the degree of bending deformation of the IPMC structure is just right, and the actuation command does not need to be adjusted. After the pressure data measured by the strain gauge adjusts the actuation command, the IPMC structure executes the adjusted actuation command, which drives the IPMC elastic layer to bend again, thereby driving the strain elastic layer Deformation also occurs again. At the same time, the strain gauge monitors the pressure data again, so that the pressure data measured by the strain gauge is consistent with the pressure data of touching the object in the real scene, so as to improve the accuracy of the somatosensory and make the somatosensory The types of tactile sensations are more abundant, which improves the experience of using somatosensory tactile devices.

It should be particularly pointed out that, provided that the structures do not conflict, the structures of the various parts mentioned in the various implementations of the first embodiment above can be combined with each other. In order to avoid repetition, the technical solutions obtained after the combination will not be repeated here. However, the technical solution obtained after the combination should also belong to the protection scope of this application; and the method embodiment of the second embodiment above is an embodiment of the somatosensory control method corresponding to the structural embodiment of the somatosensory device of the first embodiment, if If there are unclear points between the two, you can refer to each other.

Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the application, not to limit them; although the application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that: The technical solutions recorded in the foregoing embodiments are modified, or some of the technical features are equivalently replaced; these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

A somatosensory tactile device, characterized in that it comprises a flexible circuit board, an IPMC elastic layer, and a strain elastic layer. The flexible circuit board is arranged between the IPMC elastic layer and the strain elastic layer, and the IPMC elastic layer includes Multiple IPMC structures.
The somatosensory device according to claim 1, wherein at least one strain gauge is provided in the strain elastic layer.
The somatosensory tactile device according to claim 2, wherein the strain elastic layer comprises a first elastic body, and the at least one strain gauge is provided in the first elastic body.
The somatosensory device according to claim 1, wherein the IPMC elastic layer comprises a second elastic body, and the multiple IPMC structures are provided on a side of the second elastic body that faces away from the flexible circuit board.
The somatosensory device according to claim 4, further comprising a flexible waterproof layer, the flexible waterproof layer is provided on the side of the second elastic body away from the flexible circuit board, and the plurality of IPMC structures cover.
The somatosensory device of claim 5, wherein the flexible waterproof layer is made of silica gel.
The somatosensory device according to claim 1 or 5, wherein the outer surface of each IPMC structure is covered with a waterproof layer.
The somatosensory device according to claim 4, wherein each of the IPMC structural parts is fixed to the second elastic body.
The somatosensory device according to claim 2, wherein the degree of bending of the IPMC structure is adjusted according to actual pressure data on the IPMC structure and expected pressure data that should be applied to the IPMC structure.
The somatosensory device according to claim 9, wherein the actual pressure data on the IPMC structure is obtained by the strain gauge.
The somatosensory device according to claim 9, wherein the expected pressure data that should be applied to the IPMC structure is obtained through machine learning.