Demonstrating Touch&Fold: A Foldable Haptic Actuator for Rendering Touch in Mixed Reality

Abstract

Figure 1: We engineered a foldable haptic device worn on the user's fngernail that renders touch in mixed reality (MR) without preventing users from also touching real objects. Here, a user follows MR instructions to repair their bicycle. (a) When the user touches the virtual tire, a cover slides down from our nail-device and pushes against their fngerpad to create the contact & pressure with this virtual object. To further increase realism, the cover also includes a linear resonant actuator that renders virtual textures using vibrations. This allows, for instance, to feel the roughness of the virtual mountain tire. Then, (b) when the user turns to interact with real objects, the cover folds back, leaving their fngerpads free to feel the texture of their real tire or operate physical tools.