Haptic devices typically rely on rigid actuators and bulky power supply systems, limiting wearability. Soft materials improve comfort, but careful distribution of stiffness is required to ground actuation forces and enable load transfer to the skin. We present Haptiknit, an approach in which soft, wearable, knit textiles with embedded pneumatic actuators enable programmable haptic display. By integrating pneumatic actuators within high- and low-stiffness machine-knit layers, each actuator can transmit 40 newtons in force with a bandwidth of 14.5 hertz. We demonstrate the concept with an adjustable sleeve for the forearm coupled to an untethered pneumatic control system that conveys a diverse array of social touch signals. We assessed the sleeve’s performance for discriminative and affective touch in a three-part user study and compared our results with those of prior electromagnetically actuated approaches. Haptiknit improves touch localization compared with vibrotactile stimulation and communicates social touch cues with fewer actuators than pneumatic textiles that do not invoke distributed stiffness. The Haptiknit sleeve resulted in similar recognition of social touch gestures compared to a voice-coil array but represented a more portable and comfortable form factor.

中文翻译：

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Haptiknit：用于可穿戴触觉的分布式刚度编织


触觉设备通常依赖于刚性致动器和笨重的电源系统，从而限制了耐磨性。柔软的材料可以提高舒适度，但需要仔细分配刚度，以降低驱动力并使载荷传递到皮肤。我们推出了 Haptiknit，这种方法使柔软、可穿戴的针织纺织品与嵌入式气动执行器相结合，实现可编程的触觉显示。通过将气动致动器集成到高刚度和低刚度的机织层中，每个致动器可以在 14.5 赫兹的带宽下传输 40 牛顿的力。我们通过前臂的可调节袖套与无线气动控制系统相结合来演示这一概念，该系统可传输各种社交触摸信号。在一项由三部分组成的用户研究中，我们评估了袖套的辨别性和情感性触摸性能，并将我们的结果与以前的电磁驱动方法的结果进行了比较。与振动触觉刺激相比，Haptiknit 改进了触摸定位，并且与不会引起分布式刚度的气动纺织品相比，使用更少的执行器来传达社交触摸线索。与音圈阵列相比，Haptiknit 袖套对社交触摸手势的识别效果相似，但外形更加便携和舒适。