The Simulation And Experimental Research Into The Pneumatic Tactile Feedback Device

Virtual Reality is a new research area which is developing with the research of the computer graphics simulation and intelligent robot technology since 1980's. VR is a computer system that can build and experience virtual word. In the last few decades, the computer graphics, image processing and pattern recognition, intelligent interface technology, artificial intelligent, multi-sensor technology were developed rapidly. The VR has been applied in. the field of entertainment industry, simulation, virtual train, tele-presence, et al. more and more popular.The efficiency of VR system is determined by the degree of its immersion and interactivity. All of this are related with the head-mounted display, position and direction tractor, tactile and force feedback in the system. It's more necessary add the tactile and force feedback into the system. For example, the operation of virtual surgery must have the tactile and force feedback. According to the experiment of human factors, if we combine the tactile feedback with the visual display, the performance of finger movement in the system can increase 10% compare with just use virtual display. Moreover, when the visual display is fail in the system, the performance of tactile feedback will increase more than 30%.The purpose of my thesis is doing some fundamental research on tactile interface with virtual world, which uses the pneumatic technology. The final goal is we hope it can be used in the virtual assemble. So, our research on the above problems is significant in the practice and theory. In my thesis, the structure of finger skin and the characteristic of Mechanoreceptors related to tactility are analyzed first, and perception of touching the corner, edge and surface of object is simulation by exciting the SA-I nerve cell with pneumatic nozzle. The finite element models of finger skin and nozzle are established by Gambit and solved by Fluent. At last, the design parameters of nozzle are determined by the simulation, by which two 3×3 nozzle arrays are constructed. In the end, this paper investigates the practice effect of the nozzle array from the point of experimental.