A Shoulder Pad Insert Vibrotactile Display

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A Shoulder Pad Insert Vibrotactile Display
ISWC 2003

• Aaron Toney
• Bruce H. Thomas
• Wearable Computer Laboratory
• University of South Australia

Lucy Dunne Susan P. Ashdown Department of
Textiles and Apparel Cornell University
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Our Goals for Todays Mass-Market Wearable Devices

1. Maintain consumers current relationship with
   garments (physical, psychological, and social)
2. Minimize impact of devices on user social
   interactions (minimize social weight)

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Wearable Integration

• Embedding technology within the current structure
  of clothing imposes restrictions on
• Size
• Weight
• Form factor
• User interface options

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Our Solution Standard Clothing Inserts
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What are Standard Clothing Inserts?

• Layers of padding, interfacing, or other
  materials meant to give shape, strength, or
  protective function to the garment.
• Location and function of clothing inserts vary
  with age, gender, season, garment function, and
  current fashions.
• Inserts are a fundamental part of the clothing
  structure, not pockets which are added to the
  surface.

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Standard Clothing Inserts
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Standard Clothing Inserts

• Exist in many common garments
• Maintain physical and psychological expectations
  and user relationships between wearer and
  garment
• Minimize outward appearance of electronics,
  diminishing social impact of augmented garments

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But I Dont Wear Shoulder Pads Anymore!
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Goals of this Research

• Examine the utility of clothing inserts as a
  housing space for electronic components.
• Evaluate the potential of shoulder worn
  vibrotactile displays

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Why a Tactile Shoulder Pad?

• Proximity of clothing to the body provides
  optimal opportunity for integration of tactile
  displays
• Shoulder area is a culturally habitual area for
  receiving tactile stimuli
• Shoulder pad provides a pre-existing volume in
  which to embed electronics.
• Shoulder pad is a part of the business suit, one
  of the most standardized garment systems in our
  culture.

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Some Applications for a Tactile Shoulder Display

• Navigation for both fully-sighted and
  seeing-impaired individuals
• Silent alerts
• Socially subtle transmission of information
• Motion guidance for physical activities

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Development of a Shoulder Pad Insert Vibrotactile
Display
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Fitting the Population
ANSUR Measures Used

• Army ANSUR database of anthropometric measures
• 3,982 subjects 2,208 female
• US Army population

A Shoulder Length, B Cervicale Height, C
Axilla Height, D Acromial Height
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Derived Body Size Specifications
Body Size
Pad Size
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Fabrication of Shoulder Pad

• Conflicting goals
• Stability and structure
• Isolation of individual vibration areas
• Compromise a layered prototype

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Fabrication of Shoulder Pad Final Prototype
Pad interior, showing layers and motor attachment
(4-motor configuration)
Pad closure, outside edge
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Integration of Vibrotactile Shoulder Pad into
Test Jackets
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Fabrication of Shoulder Pad Prototype
Configurations
Motor locations for right shoulder 4- and 6-
motor configurations pictured against the shoulder
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Experimental Subjects

• 12 subjects, all female
• Ages 19-34
• Varied body types and sizes
• Shoulder lengths 9 - 14.5cm

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Experimental Procedure Subjects
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Experimental Procedure Trials

• Tested dominant side
• Motor activation
• individuals, pairs, threes, fours, fives, and
  sixes, randomly generated combinations
• total 15 trials for 4-motor configuration, 24
  trials for 6-motor configuration
• Subjects responded on generic torso figure (open
  response)

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Experimental Procedure Subject Responses
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Experimental Procedure Qualitative Questionnaire

• Following pad testing, subjects completed a
  questionnaire concerning
• comfort of the electronic shoulder pad vs.
  standard shoulder pad
• comfort of vibrational sensation
• mental difficulty in determining location of
  stimulus

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Results Mapping Stimuli
Composite subject responses responses often
covered a much larger area than the actual
shoulder pad.
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Results Comfort

• All subjects found the electronic shoulder pads
  at least as comfortable as the standard shoulder
  pads
• Subject responses to the vibration stimulus
  varied from soothing or comforting (3 subjects)
  to annoying or ticklish (3 subjects), but most
  subjects found the stimulus neither annoying nor
  comfortable

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Results Cognitive Load

• Generally high concentration level
• Qualitative responses
• Observational data
• Reflected in accuracy of responses
• Stimuli appeared less difficult to localize in
  4-motor configuration

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Results Perception of Motors

• Each subject experienced at least one motor
  location that could not be felt.
• Subject perceptions generally consistent
  throughout trials
• Motor coupling effects extended the perceived
  activation area

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Example of a Missed Motor for One Subject

• Redactual activated motors
• Shadingsubject response
• Lower front motor missed in both trials

Trial 1
Trial 2
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Results Missed Motors
Shoulder
Shoulder

• Body locations of consistently missed motors are
  not consistent between the 4-motor and 6-motor
  configuration.

Neck
Neck
Missed Motors Miss frequency for each motor
location

• The neck-edge motor was missed in both
  configurations.

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Conclusions

• Shoulder worn displays show promise for wearable
  multi-bit wide displays.
• Garment inserts provide a viable space to house
  electronic components for wearable devices.
• Each subject felt at least one combination of
  motors.
• Distinct perceptibility of individual motors or
  patterns varied considerably between subjects.
• Individual subjects perceptions were consistent
  throughout testing.

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Future Work

• Further experimentation to determine consistent
  perceptibility
• Wireless shoulder pad unit
• Testing of moving tactile patterns
• Use of shoulder pad to transmit information
• Involve in a physiologist for further
  multidisciplinary insights

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Future Work
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