Force Sensation Induced by Electrical Stimulation of the Tendon of Biceps Muscle

Many wearable interfaces have been proposed to present force to the upper limb and elbow joint. One way to achieve a compact wearable haptic interface is to use electrical stimulation, and we have suggested that transcutaneous electrical stimulation above the wrist tendon can produce force a sensation in the direction of the muscle stretching; however, it has not been investigated in detail whether the force sensation presented by the electrical stimulation of the tendon occurs in the upper limb joints. In this study, to investigate whether the force sensation is generated when applying electrical stimulation of the skin at the tendon or at the muscle belly of the biceps brachii muscle, we quantitatively evaluated the direction and amount of the force sensation under the aforementioned conditions. The results showed that the electrical stimulation of the tendon produced significant force sensation in the direction of elbow extension. On the other hand, in some participants, the electrical stimulation of the muscle belly worked as a supporting force, resulting in the sensation of weakened force perception. In general, we concluded that the sensation produced by muscle stimulation was different from that produced by stimulation of the tendon.

TouchYou: A wearable touch sensor and stimulator for using our own body as a remote sex interface

In this article, we present TouchYou, a pair of wearable interfaces that enable affective touch interactions with people at long-distance. Through a touch-sensitive interface, which works by touch, pressure and capacitance, the body becomes the own input for stimulating the other body, which has a stimulation interface that enables the feeling of being touched. The person receives an electrical muscle stimulation, thermal and mechanical stimulation that react depending on the touch sensed by the first interface. By using the TouchYou, people can stimulate each other, using their own body, not only for sexual relations at a distance but for the production of affection and another way of feeling. We discuss the importance of the touch for human relationships, the current state of the art in haptic interfaces and how the technology can be used for the affection remote transmission. We present the design process of the TouchYou sensitive and stimulation interfaces, with a contribution of a method for developing custom touch sensors, we explore usage scenarios for the technology, including sex toys and sex robots and we present the concept of using the body as a remote sex interface.

Design of Interactions for Handheld Augmented Reality Devices Using Wearable Smart Textiles: Findings from a User Elicitation Study

Advanced developments in handheld devices’ interactive 3D graphics capabilities, processing power, and cloud computing have provided great potential for handheld augmented reality (HAR) applications, which allow users to access digital information anytime, anywhere. Nevertheless, existing interaction methods are still confined to the touch display, device camera, and built-in sensors of these handheld devices, which suffer from obtrusive interactions with AR content. Wearable fabric-based interfaces promote subtle, natural, and eyes-free interactions which are needed when performing interactions in dynamic environments. Prior studies explored the possibilities of using fabric-based wearable interfaces for head-mounted AR display (HMD) devices. The interface metaphors of HMD AR devices are inadequate for handheld AR devices as a typical HAR application require users to use only one hand to perform interactions. In this paper, we aim to investigate the use of a fabric-based wearable device as an alternative interface option for performing interactions with HAR applications. We elicited user-preferred gestures which are socially acceptable and comfortable to use for HAR devices. We also derived an interaction vocabulary of the wrist and thumb-to-index touch gestures, and present broader design guidelines for fabric-based wearable interfaces for handheld augmented reality applications.