The Haptic Stair Climber
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Students: Aaron Ferber Brian DeJong |
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Professors: Michael Peshkin Ed Colgate |
PurposeIn the haptic stair climber project, we seek to better understand how a machine can haptically communicate with its user in order to beneficially assist the user in a manual control task.BackgroundHaptic communications have been studied most often within the domain of human-computer interaction. Researchers in this area seek to provide haptic information for uses such as improved accessibility or more realistic virtual reality. Consumer product designers have also done some work in this area. Cell phone manufacturers have incorporated vibration ringers into their products and have researched ways to communicate more information with this vibration capability. Automotive companies have researched using haptic communications to notify the driver of navigation information, vehicle status, or impending collisions. However, seldom has the idea of using haptic communications during a manual control task been considered. Users can often respond very quickly and effectively to the naturally occurring haptic information that is received during physical human-machine interaction, though, so we believe that providing intentional haptic signals to a user may prove efficient.An extended bibliography for this project is available here. The Haptic Stair Climber |
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The Haptic Stair Climber is a commercial stair climber that has been modified so as to allow for any desired user interaction. The pedals are motor-driven, so the kinesthetic feel can be modified, and the pedals have been outfitted with small vibrating motors to provide tactile sensations as well. The stair climber also has a video display and knobs on each handrail to provide experiment subjects with a mental distraction task. |  |
PublicationsRO-MAN 2007: | ||
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Last updated arf 8/21/07.