Haptic Intelligence


2024


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Expert Perception of Teleoperated Social Exercise Robots

Mohan, M., Mat Husin, H., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

In Proceedings of the ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), pages: 769-773, Boulder, USA, March 2024, Late-Breaking Report (LBR) (5 pages) presented at the IEEE/ACM International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) (inproceedings)

Abstract
Social robots could help address the growing issue of physical inactivity by inspiring users to engage in interactive exercise. Nevertheless, the practical implementation of social exercise robots poses substantial challenges, particularly in terms of personalizing their activities to individuals. We propose that motion-capture-based teleoperation could serve as a viable solution to address these needs by enabling experts to record custom motions that could later be played back without their real-time involvement. To gather feedback about this idea, we conducted semi-structured interviews with eight exercise-therapy professionals. Our findings indicate that experts' attitudes toward social exercise robots become more positive when considering the prospect of teleoperation to record and customize robot behaviors.

DOI Project Page [BibTex]

2024

DOI Project Page [BibTex]


Adapting a High-Fidelity Simulation of Human Skin for Comparative Touch Sensing in the Elephant Trunk
Adapting a High-Fidelity Simulation of Human Skin for Comparative Touch Sensing in the Elephant Trunk

Schulz, A., Serhat, G., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

Abstract presented at the Society for Integrative and Comparative BIology Annual Meeting (SICB), Seattle, USA, January 2024 (misc)

Abstract
Skin is a complex biological composite consisting of layers with distinct mechanical properties, morphologies, and mechanosensory capabilities. This work seeks to expand the comparative biomechanics field to comparative haptics, analyzing elephant trunk touch by redesigning a previously published human finger-pad model with morphological parameters measured from an elephant trunk. The dorsal surface of the elephant trunk has a thick, wrinkled epidermis covered with whiskers at the distal tip and deep folds at the proximal base. We hypothesize that this thick dorsal skin protects the trunk from mechanical damage but significantly dulls its tactile sensing ability. To facilitate safe and dexterous motion, the distributed dorsal whiskers might serve as pre-touch antennae, transmitting an amplified version of impending contact to the mechanoreceptors beneath the elephant's armor. We tested these hypotheses by simulating soft tissue deformation through high-fidelity finite element analyses involving representative skin layers and whiskers, modeled based on frozen African elephant trunk (Loxodonta africana) morphology. For a typical contact force, quintupling the stratum corneum thickness to match dorsal trunk skin reduces the von Mises stress communicated to the dermis by 18%. However, adding a whisker offsets this dulled sensing, as hypothesized, amplifying the stress by more than 15 at the same location. We hope this work will motivate further investigations of mammalian touch using approaches and models from the ample literature on human touch.

[BibTex]

[BibTex]


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MPI-10: Haptic-Auditory Measurements from Tool-Surface Interactions

Khojasteh, B., Shao, Y., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

Dataset published as a companion to the journal article "Robust Surface Recognition with the Maximum Mean Discrepancy: Degrading Haptic-Auditory Signals through Bandwidth and Noise" in IEEE Transactions on Haptics, January 2024 (misc)

DOI Project Page [BibTex]

DOI Project Page [BibTex]


Whiskers That Don’t Whisk: Unique Structure From the Absence of Actuation in Elephant Whiskers
Whiskers That Don’t Whisk: Unique Structure From the Absence of Actuation in Elephant Whiskers

Schulz, A., Kaufmann, L., Brecht, M., Richter, G., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

Abstract presented at the Society for Integrative and Comparative BIology Annual Meeting (SICB), Seattle, USA, January 2024 (misc)

Abstract
Whiskers are so named because these hairs often actuate circularly, whisking, via collagen wrapping at the root of the hair follicle to increase their sensing volumes. Elephant trunks are a unique case study for whiskers, as the dorsal and lateral sections of the elephant proboscis have scattered sensory hairs that lack individual actuation. We hypothesize that the actuation limitations of these non-whisking whiskers led to anisotropic morphology and non-homogeneous composition to meet the animal's sensory needs. To test these hypotheses, we examined trunk whiskers from a 35-year-old female African savannah elephant (Loxodonta africana). Whisker morphology was evaluated through micro-CT and polarized light microscopy. The whiskers from the distal tip of the trunk were found to be axially asymmetric, with an ovular cross-section at the root, shifting to a near-square cross-section at the point. Nanoindentation and additional microscopy revealed that elephant whiskers have a composition unlike any other mammalian hair ever studied: we recorded an elastic modulus of 3 GPa at the root and 0.05 GPa at the point of a single 4-cm-long whisker. This work challenges the assumption that hairs have circular cross-sections and isotropic mechanical properties. With such striking differences compared to other mammals, including the mouse (Mus musculus), rat (Rattus norvegicus), and cat (Felis catus), we conclude that whisker morphology and composition play distinct and complementary roles in elephant trunk mechanosensing.

[BibTex]

[BibTex]


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Discrete fourier transform three-to-one (DFT321): Code

Landin, N., Romano, J. M., McMahan, W., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

MATLAB code of discrete fourier transform three-to-one (DFT321), 2024 (misc)

Code Project Page [BibTex]

Code Project Page [BibTex]

2023


Seeking Causal, Invariant, Structures with Kernel Mean Embeddings in Haptic-Auditory Data from Tool-Surface Interaction
Seeking Causal, Invariant, Structures with Kernel Mean Embeddings in Haptic-Auditory Data from Tool-Surface Interaction

Khojasteh, B., Shao, Y., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

Workshop paper (4 pages) presented at the IROS Workshop on Causality for Robotics: Answering the Question of Why, Detroit, USA, October 2023 (misc)

Abstract
Causal inference could give future learning robots strong generalization and scalability capabilities, which are crucial for safety, fault diagnosis and error prevention. One application area of interest consists of the haptic recognition of surfaces. We seek to understand cause and effect during physical surface interaction by examining surface and tool identity, their interplay, and other contact-irrelevant factors. To work toward elucidating the mechanism of surface encoding, we attempt to recognize surfaces from haptic-auditory data captured by previously unseen hemispherical steel tools that differ from the recording tool in diameter and mass. In this context, we leverage ideas from kernel methods to quantify surface similarity through descriptive differences in signal distributions. We find that the effect of the tool is significantly present in higher-order statistical moments of contact data: aligning the means of the distributions being compared somewhat improves recognition but does not fully separate tool identity from surface identity. Our findings shed light on salient aspects of haptic-auditory data from tool-surface interaction and highlight the challenges involved in generalizing artificial surface discrimination capabilities.

Manuscript Project Page [BibTex]

2023

Manuscript Project Page [BibTex]


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Enhancing Surgical Team Collaboration and Situation Awareness through Multimodal Sensing

Allemang–Trivalle, A.

Proceedings of the ACM International Conference on Multimodal Interaction (ICMI), pages: 716-720, Extended abstract (5 pages) presented at the ACM International Conference on Multimodal Interaction (ICMI) Doctoral Consortium, Paris, France, October 2023 (misc)

Abstract
Surgery, typically seen as the surgeon's sole responsibility, requires a broader perspective acknowledging the vital roles of other operating room (OR) personnel. The interactions among team members are crucial for delivering quality care and depend on shared situation awareness. I propose a two-phase approach to design and evaluate a multimodal platform that monitors OR members, offering insights into surgical procedures. The first phase focuses on designing a data-collection platform, tailored to surgical constraints, to generate novel collaboration and situation-awareness metrics using synchronous recordings of the participants' voices, positions, orientations, electrocardiograms, and respiration signals. The second phase concerns the creation of intuitive dashboards and visualizations, aiding surgeons in reviewing recorded surgery, identifying adverse events and contributing to proactive measures. This work aims to demonstrate an innovative approach to data collection and analysis, augmenting the surgical team's capabilities. The multimodal platform has the potential to enhance collaboration, foster situation awareness, and ultimately mitigate surgical adverse events. This research sets the stage for a transformative shift in the OR, enabling a more holistic and inclusive perspective that recognizes that surgery is a team effort.

DOI [BibTex]

DOI [BibTex]


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NearContact: Accurate Human Detection using Tomographic Proximity and Contact Sensing with Cross-Modal Attention

Garrofé, G., Schoeffmann, C., Zangl, H., Kuchenbecker, K. J., Lee, H.

Extended abstract (4 pages) presented at the International Workshop on Human-Friendly Robotics (HFR), Munich, Germany, September 2023 (misc)

Project Page [BibTex]

Project Page [BibTex]


The Role of Kinematics Estimation Accuracy in Learning with Wearable Haptics
The Role of Kinematics Estimation Accuracy in Learning with Wearable Haptics

Rokhmanova, N., Pearl, O., Kuchenbecker, K. J., Halilaj, E.

Abstract presented at the American Society of Biomechanics (ASB), Knoxville, USA, August 2023 (misc)

Project Page [BibTex]

Project Page [BibTex]


Wear Your Heart on Your Sleeve: Users Prefer Robots with Emotional Reactions to Touch and Ambient Moods
Wear Your Heart on Your Sleeve: Users Prefer Robots with Emotional Reactions to Touch and Ambient Moods

Burns, R. B., Ojo, F., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

In Proceedings of the IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN), pages: 1914-1921, Busan, South Korea, August 2023 (inproceedings)

Abstract
Robots are increasingly being developed as assistants for household, education, therapy, and care settings. Such robots can use adaptive emotional behavior to communicate warmly and effectively with their users and to encourage interest in extended interactions. However, autonomous physical robots often lack a dynamic internal emotional state, instead displaying brief, fixed emotion routines to promote specific user interactions. Furthermore, despite the importance of social touch in human communication, most commercially available robots have limited touch sensing, if any at all. We propose that users' perceptions of a social robotic system will improve when the robot provides emotional responses on both shorter and longer time scales (reactions and moods), based on touch inputs from the user. We evaluated this proposal through an online study in which 51 diverse participants watched nine randomly ordered videos (a three-by-three full-factorial design) of the koala-like robot HERA being touched by a human. Users provided the highest ratings in terms of agency, ambient activity, enjoyability, and touch perceptivity for scenarios in which HERA showed emotional reactions and either neutral or emotional moods in response to social touch gestures. Furthermore, we summarize key qualitative findings about users' preferences for reaction timing, the ability of robot mood to show persisting memory, and perception of neutral behaviors as a curious or self-aware robot.

link (url) DOI Project Page [BibTex]

link (url) DOI Project Page [BibTex]


Strap Tightness and Tissue Composition Both Affect the Vibration Created by a Wearable Device
Strap Tightness and Tissue Composition Both Affect the Vibration Created by a Wearable Device

Rokhmanova, N., Faulkner, R., Martus, J., Fiene, J., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

Work-in-progress paper (1 page) presented at the IEEE World Haptics Conference (WHC), Delft, The Netherlands, July 2023 (misc)

Abstract
Wearable haptic devices can provide salient real-time feedback (typically vibration) for rehabilitation, sports training, and skill acquisition. Although the body provides many sites for such cues, the influence of the mounting location on vibrotactile mechanics is commonly ignored. This study builds on previous research by quantifying how changes in strap tightness and local tissue composition affect the physical acceleration generated by a typical vibrotactile device.

Project Page [BibTex]

Project Page [BibTex]


Toward a Device for Reliable Evaluation of Vibrotactile Perception
Toward a Device for Reliable Evaluation of Vibrotactile Perception

Ballardini, G., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

Work-in-progress paper (1 page) presented at the IEEE World Haptics Conference (WHC), Delft, The Netherlands, July 2023 (misc)

[BibTex]

[BibTex]


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Multimodal Multi-User Surface Recognition with the Kernel Two-Sample Test: Code

Khojasteh, B., Solowjow, F., Trimpe, S., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

Code published as a companion to the journal article "Multimodal Multi-User Surface Recognition with the Kernel Two-Sample Test" in IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering, July 2023 (misc)

DOI Project Page [BibTex]

DOI Project Page [BibTex]


Improving Haptic Rendering Quality by Measuring and Compensating for Undesired Forces
Improving Haptic Rendering Quality by Measuring and Compensating for Undesired Forces

Fazlollahi, F., Taghizadeh, Z., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

Work-in-progress paper (1 page) presented at the IEEE World Haptics Conference (WHC), Delft, The Netherlands, July 2023 (misc)

Project Page [BibTex]

Project Page [BibTex]


Capturing Rich Auditory-Haptic Contact Data for Surface Recognition
Capturing Rich Auditory-Haptic Contact Data for Surface Recognition

Khojasteh, B., Shao, Y., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

Work-in-progress paper (1 page) presented at the IEEE World Haptics Conference (WHC), Delft, The Netherlands, July 2023 (misc)

Abstract
The sophistication of biological sensing and transduction processes during finger-surface and tool-surface interaction is remarkable, enabling humans to perform ubiquitous tasks such as discriminating and manipulating surfaces. Capturing and processing these rich contact-elicited signals during surface exploration with similar success is an important challenge for artificial systems. Prior research introduced sophisticated mobile surface-sensing systems, but it remains less clear what quality, resolution and acuity of sensor data are necessary to perform human tasks with the same efficiency and accuracy. In order to address this gap in our understanding about artificial surface perception, we have designed a novel auditory-haptic test bed. This study aims to inspire new designs for artificial sensing tools in human-machine and robotic applications.

Project Page [BibTex]

Project Page [BibTex]


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Naturalistic Vibrotactile Feedback Could Facilitate Telerobotic Assembly on Construction Sites

Gong, Y., Javot, B., Lauer, A. P. R., Sawodny, O., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

In Proceedings of the IEEE World Haptics Conference (WHC), pages: 169-175, Delft, The Netherlands, July 2023 (inproceedings)

Abstract
Telerobotics is regularly used on construction sites to build large structures efficiently. A human operator remotely controls the construction robot under direct visual feedback, but visibility is often poor. Future construction robots that move autonomously will also require operator monitoring. Thus, we designed a wireless haptic feedback system to provide the operator with task-relevant mechanical information from a construction robot in real time. Our AiroTouch system uses an accelerometer to measure the robot end-effector's vibrations and uses off-the-shelf audio equipment and a voice-coil actuator to display them to the user with high fidelity. A study was conducted to evaluate how this type of naturalistic vibration feedback affects the observer's understanding of telerobotic assembly on a real construction site. Seven adults without construction experience observed a mix of manual and autonomous assembly processes both with and without naturalistic vibrotactile feedback. Qualitative analysis of their survey responses and interviews indicated that all participants had positive responses to this technology and believed it would be beneficial for construction activities.

DOI Project Page [BibTex]

DOI Project Page [BibTex]


Airo{T}ouch: Naturalistic Vibrotactile Feedback for Telerobotic Construction
AiroTouch: Naturalistic Vibrotactile Feedback for Telerobotic Construction

Gong, Y., Javot, B., Lauer, A. P. R., Sawodny, O., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

Hands-on demonstration presented at the IEEE World Haptics Conference, Delft, The Netherlands, July 2023 (misc)

Project Page [BibTex]

Project Page [BibTex]


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CAPT Motor: A Strong Direct-Drive Haptic Interface

Javot, B., Nguyen, V. H., Ballardini, G., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

Hands-on demonstration presented at the IEEE World Haptics Conference, Delft, The Netherlands, July 2023 (misc)

Project Page [BibTex]

Project Page [BibTex]


Can Recording Expert Demonstrations with Tool Vibrations Facilitate Teaching of Manual Skills?
Can Recording Expert Demonstrations with Tool Vibrations Facilitate Teaching of Manual Skills?

Gourishetti, R., Javot, B., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

Work-in-progress paper (1 page) presented at the IEEE World Haptics Conference (WHC), Delft, The Netherlands, July 2023 (misc)

Project Page [BibTex]

Project Page [BibTex]


Creating a Haptic Empathetic Robot Animal for Children with Autism
Creating a Haptic Empathetic Robot Animal for Children with Autism

Burns, R. B.

Workshop paper (4 pages) presented at the RSS Pioneers Workshop, Daegu, South Korea, July 2023 (misc)

link (url) Project Page [BibTex]

link (url) Project Page [BibTex]


The Influence of Amplitude and Sharpness on the Perceived Intensity of Isoenergetic Ultrasonic Signals
The Influence of Amplitude and Sharpness on the Perceived Intensity of Isoenergetic Ultrasonic Signals

Gueorguiev, D., Rohou–Claquin, B., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

Work-in-progress paper (1 page) presented at the IEEE World Haptics Conference (WHC), Delft, The Netherlands, July 2023 (misc)

Project Page [BibTex]

Project Page [BibTex]


Vibrotactile Playback for Teaching Manual Skills from Expert Recordings
Vibrotactile Playback for Teaching Manual Skills from Expert Recordings

Gourishetti, R., Hughes, A. G., Javot, B., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

Hands-on demonstration presented at the IEEE World Haptics Conference, Delft, The Netherlands, July 2023 (misc)

Project Page [BibTex]

Project Page [BibTex]


Reconstructing Signing Avatars from Video Using Linguistic Priors
Reconstructing Signing Avatars from Video Using Linguistic Priors

Forte, M., Kulits, P., Huang, C. P., Choutas, V., Tzionas, D., Kuchenbecker, K. J., Black, M. J.

In IEEE/CVF Conf. on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR), pages: 12791-12801, CVPR 2023, June 2023 (inproceedings)

Abstract
Sign language (SL) is the primary method of communication for the 70 million Deaf people around the world. Video dictionaries of isolated signs are a core SL learning tool. Replacing these with 3D avatars can aid learning and enable AR/VR applications, improving access to technology and online media. However, little work has attempted to estimate expressive 3D avatars from SL video; occlusion, noise, and motion blur make this task difficult. We address this by introducing novel linguistic priors that are universally applicable to SL and provide constraints on 3D hand pose that help resolve ambiguities within isolated signs. Our method, SGNify, captures fine-grained hand pose, facial expression, and body movement fully automatically from in-the-wild monocular SL videos. We evaluate SGNify quantitatively by using a commercial motion-capture system to compute 3D avatars synchronized with monocular video. SGNify outperforms state-of-the-art 3D body-pose- and shape-estimation methods on SL videos. A perceptual study shows that SGNify's 3D reconstructions are significantly more comprehensible and natural than those of previous methods and are on par with the source videos. Code and data are available at sgnify.is.tue.mpg.de.

pdf arXiv project code DOI [BibTex]

pdf arXiv project code DOI [BibTex]


Naturalistic Vibrotactile Feedback Could Facilitate Telerobotic Assembly on Construction Sites
Naturalistic Vibrotactile Feedback Could Facilitate Telerobotic Assembly on Construction Sites

Gong, Y., Javot, B., Lauer, A. P. R., Sawodny, O., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

Poster presented at the ICRA Workshop on Future of Construction: Robot Perception, Mapping, Navigation, Control in Unstructured and Cluttered Environments, London, UK, May 2023 (misc)

Project Page [BibTex]

Project Page [BibTex]


Airo{T}ouch: Naturalistic Vibrotactile Feedback for Telerobotic Construction-Related Tasks
AiroTouch: Naturalistic Vibrotactile Feedback for Telerobotic Construction-Related Tasks

Gong, Y., Tashiro, N., Javot, B., Lauer, A. P. R., Sawodny, O., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

Extended abstract (1 page) presented at the ICRA Workshop on Communicating Robot Learning across Human-Robot Interaction, London, UK, May 2023 (misc)

Project Page [BibTex]

Project Page [BibTex]


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3D Reconstruction for Minimally Invasive Surgery: Lidar Versus Learning-Based Stereo Matching

Caccianiga, G., Nubert, J., Hutter, M., Kuchenbecker., K. J.

Workshop paper (2 pages) presented at the ICRA Workshop on Robot-Assisted Medical Imaging, London, UK, May 2023 (misc)

Abstract
This work investigates real-time 3D surface reconstruction for minimally invasive surgery. Specifically, we analyze depth sensing through laser-based time-of-flight sensing (lidar) and stereo endoscopy on ex-vivo porcine tissue samples. When compared to modern learning-based stereo matching from endoscopic images, lidar achieves lower processing delay, higher frame rate, and superior robustness against sensor distance and poor illumination. Furthermore, we report on the negative effect of near-infrared light penetration on the accuracy of time-of-flight measurements across different tissue types.

Project Page [BibTex]

Project Page [BibTex]


Surface Perception through Haptic-Auditory Contact Data
Surface Perception through Haptic-Auditory Contact Data

Khojasteh, B., Shao, Y., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

Workshop paper (4 pages) presented at the ICRA Workshop on Embracing Contacts, London, UK, May 2023 (misc)

Abstract
Sliding a finger or tool along a surface generates rich haptic and auditory contact signals that encode properties crucial for manipulation, such as friction and hardness. To engage in contact-rich manipulation, future robots would benefit from having surface-characterization capabilities similar to humans, but the optimal sensing configuration is not yet known. Thus, we developed a test bed for capturing high-quality measurements as a human touches surfaces with different tools: it includes optical motion capture, a force/torque sensor under the surface sample, high-bandwidth accelerometers on the tool and the fingertip, and a high-fidelity microphone. After recording data from three tool diameters and nine surfaces, we describe a surface-classification pipeline that uses the maximum mean discrepancy (MMD) to compare newly gathered data to each surface in our known library. The results achieved under several pipeline variations are compared, and future investigations are outlined.

link (url) Project Page [BibTex]

link (url) Project Page [BibTex]


{OCRA}: An Optimization-Based Customizable Retargeting Algorithm for Teleoperation
OCRA: An Optimization-Based Customizable Retargeting Algorithm for Teleoperation

Mohan, M., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

Workshop paper (3 pages) presented at the ICRA Workshop Toward Robot Avatars, London, UK, May 2023 (misc)

Abstract
This paper presents a real-time optimization-based algorithm for mapping motion between two kinematically dissimilar serial linkages, such as a human arm and a robot arm. OCRA can be customized based on the target task to weight end-effector orientation versus the configuration of the central line of the arm, which we call the skeleton. A video-watching study (N=70) demonstrated that when this algorithm considers both the hand orientation and the arm skeleton, it creates robot arm motions that users perceive to be highly similar to those of the human operator, indicating OCRA would be suitable for telerobotics and telepresence through avatars.

link (url) Project Page [BibTex]

link (url) Project Page [BibTex]


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Wearable Biofeedback for Knee Joint Health

Rokhmanova, N.

Extended abstract (5 pages) presented at the ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI) Doctoral Consortium, Hamburg, Germany, April 2023 (misc)

Abstract
The human body has the tremendous capacity to learn a new way of walking that reduces its risk of musculoskeletal disease progression. Wearable haptic biofeedback has been used to guide gait retraining in patients with knee osteoarthritis, enabling reductions in pain and improvement in function. However, this promising therapy is not yet a part of standard clinical practice. Here, I propose a two-pronged approach to improving the design and deployment of biofeedback for gait retraining. The first section concerns prescription, with the aim of providing clinicians with an interpretable model of gait retraining outcome in order to best guide their treatment decisions. The second section concerns learning, by examining how internal physiological state and external environmental factors influence the process of learning a therapeutic gait. This work aims to address the challenges keeping a highly promising intervention from being widely used to maintain pain-free mobility throughout the lifespan.

DOI Project Page [BibTex]

DOI Project Page [BibTex]


A Lasting Impact: Using Second-Order Dynamics to Customize the Continuous Emotional Expression of a Social Robot
A Lasting Impact: Using Second-Order Dynamics to Customize the Continuous Emotional Expression of a Social Robot

Burns, R. B., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

Workshop paper (5 pages) presented at the HRI Workshop on Lifelong Learning and Personalization in Long-Term Human-Robot Interaction (LEAP-HRI), Stockholm, Sweden, March 2023 (misc)

Abstract
Robots are increasingly being developed as assistants for household, education, therapy, and care settings. Such robots need social skills to interact warmly and effectively with their users, as well as adaptive behavior to maintain user interest. While complex emotion models exist for chat bots and virtual agents, autonomous physical robots often lack a dynamic internal affective state, instead displaying brief, fixed emotion routines to promote or discourage specific user actions. We address this need by creating a mathematical emotion model that can easily be implemented in a social robot to enable it to react intelligently to external stimuli. The robot's affective state is modeled as a second-order dynamic system analogous to a mass connected to ground by a parallel spring and damper. The present position of this imaginary mass shows the robot's valence, which we visualize as the height of its displayed smile (positive) or frown (negative). Associating positive and negative stimuli with appropriately oriented and sized force pulses applied to the mass enables the robot to respond to social touch and other inputs with a valence that evolves over a longer timescale, capturing essential features of approach-avoidance theory. By adjusting the parameters of this emotion model, one can modify three main aspects of the robot's personality, which we term disposition, stoicism, and calmness.

link (url) Project Page [BibTex]

link (url) Project Page [BibTex]

2022


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A Sequential Group VAE for Robot Learning of Haptic Representations

Richardson, B. A., Kuchenbecker, K. J., Martius, G.

pages: 1-11, Workshop paper (8 pages) presented at the CoRL Workshop on Aligning Robot Representations with Humans, Auckland, New Zealand, December 2022 (misc)

Abstract
Haptic representation learning is a difficult task in robotics because information can be gathered only by actively exploring the environment over time, and because different actions elicit different object properties. We propose a Sequential Group VAE that leverages object persistence to learn and update latent general representations of multimodal haptic data. As a robot performs sequences of exploratory procedures on an object, the model accumulates data and learns to distinguish between general object properties, such as size and mass, and trial-to-trial variations, such as initial object position. We demonstrate that after very few observations, the general latent representations are sufficiently refined to accurately encode many haptic object properties.

link (url) Project Page [BibTex]

2022

link (url) Project Page [BibTex]


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Semi-Automated Robotic Pleural Cavity Access in Space

L’Orsa, R., Lotbiniere-Bassett, M. D., Zareinia, K., Lama, S., Westwick, D., Sutherland, G., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

Poster presented at the Canadian Space Health Research Symposium (CSHRS), Alberta, Canada, November 2022 (misc)

Abstract
Astronauts are at risk for pneumothorax, a medical condition where air accumulating between the chest wall and the lungs impedes breathing and can result in fatality. Treatments include needle decompression (ND) and chest tube insertion (tube thoracostomy, TT). Unfortunately, the literature reports very high failure rates for ND and high complication rates for TT– especially whenn performed urgently, infrequently, or by inexperienced operators. These statistics are problematic in the context of skill retention for physician astronauts on long-duration exploration-class missions, or for non-medical astronauts if the physician astronaut is the one in need of treatment. We propose reducing the medical risk for exploration-class missions by improving ND/TT outcomes using a robot-based paradigm that automates tool depth control. Our goal is to produce a robotic system that improves the safety of pneumothorax treatments regardless of operator skill and without the use of ground resources. This poster provides an overview of our team's work toward this goal, including robot instrumentation schemes, tool-tissue interaction characterization, and automated puncture detection.

Project Page [BibTex]

Project Page [BibTex]


Do-It-Yourself Whole-Body Social-Touch Perception for a {NAO} Robot
Do-It-Yourself Whole-Body Social-Touch Perception for a NAO Robot

Burns, R. B., Rosenthal, R., Garg, K., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

Workshop paper (1 page) presented at the IROS Workshop on Large-Scale Robotic Skin: Perception, Interaction and Control, Kyoto, Japan, October 2022 (misc)

Poster link (url) Project Page [BibTex]

Poster link (url) Project Page [BibTex]


A Soft Vision-Based Tactile Sensor for Robotic Fingertip Manipulation
A Soft Vision-Based Tactile Sensor for Robotic Fingertip Manipulation

Andrussow, I., Sun, H., Kuchenbecker, K. J., Martius, G.

Workshop paper (1 page) presented at the IROS Workshop on Large-Scale Robotic Skin: Perception, Interaction and Control, Kyoto, Japan, October 2022 (misc)

Abstract
For robots to become fully dexterous, their hardware needs to provide rich sensory feedback. High-resolution haptic sensing similar to the human fingertip can enable robots to execute delicate manipulation tasks like picking up small objects, inserting a key into a lock, or handing a cup of coffee to a human. Many tactile sensors have emerged in recent years; one especially promising direction is vision-based tactile sensors due to their low cost, low wiring complexity and high-resolution sensing capabilities. In this work, we build on previous findings to create a soft fingertip-sized tactile sensor. It can sense normal and shear contact forces all around its 3D surface with an average prediction error of 0.05 N, and it localizes contact on its shell with an average prediction error of 0.5 mm. The software of this sensor uses a data-efficient machine-learning pipeline to run in real time on hardware with low computational power like a Raspberry Pi. It provides a maximum data frame rate of 60 Hz via USB.

link (url) Project Page [BibTex]

link (url) Project Page [BibTex]


Sensor Patterns Dataset for Endowing a {NAO} Robot with Practical Social-Touch Perception
Sensor Patterns Dataset for Endowing a NAO Robot with Practical Social-Touch Perception

Burns, R. B., Lee, H., Seifi, H., Faulkner, R., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

Dataset published as a companion to the journal article "Endowing a NAO Robot with Practical Social-Touch Perception" in Frontiers in Robotics and AI, October 2022 (misc)

DOI Project Page [BibTex]

DOI Project Page [BibTex]


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Towards Semi-Automated Pleural Cavity Access for Pneumothorax in Austere Environments

L’Orsa, R., Lama, S., Westwick, D., Sutherland, G., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

In Proceedings of the International Astronautical Congress (IAC), pages: 1-7, Paris, France, September 2022 (inproceedings)

Abstract
Pneumothorax, a condition where injury or disease introduces air between the chest wall and lungs, can impede lung function and lead to respiratory failure and/or obstructive shock. Chest trauma from dynamic loads, hypobaric exposure from extravehicular activity, and pulmonary inflammation from celestial dust exposures could potentially cause pneumothoraces during spaceflight with or without exacerbation from deconditioning. On Earth, emergent cases are treated with chest tube insertion (tube thoracostomy, TT) when available, or needle decompression (ND) when not (i.e., pre-hospital). However, ND has high failure rates (up to 94%), and TT has high complication rates (up to 37.9%), especially when performed by inexperienced or intermittent operators. Thus neither procedure is ideal for a pure just-in-time training or skill refreshment approach, and both may require adjuncts for safe inclusion in Level of Care IV (e.g., short duration lunar orbit) or V (e.g., Mars transit) missions. Insertional complications are of particular concern since they cause inadvertent tissue damage that, while surgically repairable in an operating room, could result in (preventable) fatality in a spacecraft or other isolated, confined, or extreme (ICE) environments. Tools must be positioned and oriented correctly to avoid accidental insertion into critical structures, and they must be inserted no further than the thin membrane lining the inside of the rib cage (i.e., the parietal pleura). Operators identify pleural puncture via loss-of-resistance sensations on the tool during advancement, but experienced surgeons anecdotally describe a wide range of membrane characteristics: robust tissues require significant force to perforate, while fragile tissues deliver little-to-no haptic sensation when pierced. Both extremes can lead to tool overshoot and may be representative of astronaut tissues at the beginning (healthy) and end (deconditioned) of long duration exploration class missions. Given uncertainty surrounding physician astronaut selection criteria, skill retention, and tissue condition, an adjunct for improved insertion accuracy would be of value. We describe experiments conducted with an intelligent prototype sensorized system aimed at semi-automating tool insertion into the pleural cavity. The assembly would integrate with an in-mission medical system and could be tailored to fully complement an autonomous medical response agent. When coupled with minimal just-in-time training, it has the potential to bestow expert pleural access skills on non-expert operators without the use of ground resources, in both emergent and elective treatment scenarios.

Project Page [BibTex]

Project Page [BibTex]


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Predicting Knee Adduction Moment Response to Gait Retraining

Rokhmanova, N., Kuchenbecker, K. J., Shull, P. B., Ferber, R., Halilaj, E.

Extended abstract presented at North American Congress of Biomechanics (NACOB), Ottawa, Canada, August 2022 (misc)

Abstract
Personalized gait retraining has shown promise as a conservative intervention for slowing knee osteoarthritis (OA) progression [1,2]. Changing the foot progression angle is an easy-to-learn gait modification that often reduces the knee adduction moment (KAM), a correlate of medial joint loading. Deployment to clinics is challenging, however, because customizing gait retraining still requires gait lab instrumentation. Innovation in wearable sensing and vision-based motion tracking could bring lab-level accuracy to the clinic, but current markerless motion-tracking algorithms cannot accurately assess if gait retraining will reduce someone's KAM by a clinically meaningful margin. To assist clinicians in determining if a patient will benefit from toe-in gait, we built a predictive model to estimate KAM reduction using only measurements that can be easily obtained in the clinic.

Project Page [BibTex]

Project Page [BibTex]


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Wrist-Squeezing Force Feedback Improves Accuracy and Speed in Robotic Surgery Training

Machaca, S., Cao, E., Chi, A., Adrales, G., Kuchenbecker, K. J., Brown, J. D.

In Proceedings of the IEEE RAS/EMBS International Conference for Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics (BioRob), pages: 1-8, Seoul, Korea, August 2022 (inproceedings)

Abstract
Current robotic minimally invasive surgery (RMIS) platforms provide surgeons with no haptic feedback of the robot's physical interactions. This limitation forces surgeons to rely heavily on visual feedback and can make it challenging for surgical trainees to manipulate tissue gently. Prior research has demonstrated that haptic feedback can increase task accuracy in RMIS training. However, it remains unclear whether these improvements represent a fundamental improvement in skill, or if they simply stem from re-prioritizing accuracy over task completion time. In this study, we provide haptic feedback of the force applied by the surgical instruments using custom wrist-squeezing devices. We hypothesize that individuals receiving haptic feedback will increase accuracy (produce less force) while increasing their task completion time, compared to a control group receiving no haptic feedback. To test this hypothesis, N=21 novice participants were asked to repeatedly complete a ring rollercoaster surgical training task as quickly as possible. Results show that participants receiving haptic feedback apply significantly less force (0.67 N) than the control group, and they complete the task no faster or slower than the control group after twelve repetitions. Furthermore, participants in the feedback group decreased their task completion times significantly faster (7.68 %) than participants in the control group (5.26 %). This form of haptic feedback, therefore, has the potential to help trainees improve their technical accuracy without compromising speed.

DOI Project Page [BibTex]

DOI Project Page [BibTex]


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A Sensorized Needle-Insertion Device for Characterizing Percutaneous Thoracic Tool-Tissue Interactions

L’Orsa, R., Zareinia, K., Westwick, D., Sutherland, G., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

Short paper (2 pages) presented at the Hamlyn Symposium on Medical Robotics (HSMR), London, UK, June 2022 (misc)

Abstract
Serious complications during chest tube insertion are relatively rare, but can have catastrophic repercussions. We propose semi-automating tool insertion to help protect against non-target tissue puncture, and report first steps collecting and characterizing needle-tissue interaction forces in a tissue phantom used for chest tube insertion training.

Project Page [BibTex]

Project Page [BibTex]


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Dense 3D Reconstruction Through Lidar: A New Perspective on Computer-Integrated Surgery

Caccianiga, G., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

Short paper (2 pages) presented at the Hamlyn Symposium on Medical Robotics (HSMR), London, UK, June 2022 (misc)

Abstract
Technical innovations in sensing and computation are quickly advancing the field of computer-integrated surgery. In this fast-evolving panorama, we strongly believe there is still a need for robust geometric reconstruction of the surgical field. 3D reconstruction in surgery has been investigated almost only in the space of mono and stereoscopic visual imaging because surgeons always view the procedure through a clinical endoscope. Meanwhile, lidar (light detection and ranging) has greatly expanded in use, especially in SLAM for robotics, terrestrial vehicles, and drones. In parallel to these developments, the concept of multiple-viewpoint surgical imaging was proposed in the early 2010's in the context of magnetic actuation and micro-invasive surgery. We here propose an approach in which each surgical cannula can potentially hold a miniature lidar. Direct comparison between lidar from different viewpoints and a state-of-the-art 3D reconstruction method on stereoendoscope images showed that lidar-generated point clouds achieve better accuracy and scene coverage. This experiment especially hints at the potential of lidar imaging when deployed in a multiple-viewpoint approach.

Project Page [BibTex]

Project Page [BibTex]


Comparing Two Grounded Force-Feedback Haptic Devices
Comparing Two Grounded Force-Feedback Haptic Devices

Fazlollahi, F., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

Hands-on demonstration presented at EuroHaptics, Hamburg, Germany, May 2022 (misc)

Abstract
Even when they are not powered, grounded force-feedback haptic devices apply forces on the user's hand. These undesired forces stem from gravity, friction, and other nonidealities, and they still exist when the device renders a virtual environment. This demo invites users to compare how the 3D Systems Touch and Touch X devices render the same haptic content. Participants will try both devices in free space and touch a stiff frictionless virtual surface. After reflecting on the differences between the two devices, each person will receive a booklet showing the quantitative performance criteria we measured for both devices using Haptify, our benchmarking system.

Project Page [BibTex]

Project Page [BibTex]


Larger Skin-Surface Contact Through a Fingertip Wearable Improves Roughness Perception
Larger Skin-Surface Contact Through a Fingertip Wearable Improves Roughness Perception

Gueorguiev, D., Javot, B., Spiers, A., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

In Haptics: Science, Technology, Applications, pages: 171-179, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 13235, (Editors: Seifi, Hasti and Kappers, Astrid M. L. and Schneider, Oliver and Drewing, Knut and Pacchierotti, Claudio and Abbasimoshaei, Alireza and Huisman, Gijs and Kern, Thorsten A.), Springer, Cham, 13th International Conference on Human Haptic Sensing and Touch Enabled Computer Applications (EuroHaptics 2022), May 2022 (inproceedings)

Abstract
With the aim of creating wearable haptic interfaces that allow the performance of everyday tasks, we explore how differently designed fingertip wearables change the sensory threshold for tactile roughness perception. Study participants performed the same two-alternative forced-choice roughness task with a bare finger and wearing three flexible fingertip covers: two with a square opening (64 and 36 mm2, respectively) and the third with no opening. The results showed that adding the large opening improved the 75% JND by a factor of 2 times compared to the fully covered finger: the higher the skin-surface contact area, the better the roughness perception. Overall, the results show that even partial skin-surface contact through a fingertip wearable improves roughness perception, which opens design opportunities for haptic wearables that preserve natural touch.

DOI [BibTex]

DOI [BibTex]


Finger Contact during Pressing and Sliding on a Glass Plate
Finger Contact during Pressing and Sliding on a Glass Plate

Nam, S., Gueorguiev, D., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

Poster presented at the EuroHaptics Workshop on Skin Mechanics and its Role in Manipulation and Perception, Hamburg, Germany, May 2022 (misc)

Abstract
Light contact between the finger and the surface of an object sometimes causes an unanticipated slip. However, conditions causing this slip have not been fully understood, mainly because the biological components interact in complex ways to generate the skin-surface frictional properties. We investigated how the contact area starts slipping in various conditions of moisture, occlusion, and temperature during a lateral motion performed while pressing lightly on the surface.

Project Page [BibTex]

Project Page [BibTex]


Huggie{B}ot: A Human-Sized Haptic Interface
HuggieBot: A Human-Sized Haptic Interface

Block, A. E., Seifi, H., Christen, S., Javot, B., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

Hands-on demonstration presented at EuroHaptics, Hamburg, Germany, May 2022, Award for best hands-on demonstration (misc)

Abstract
How many people have you hugged in these past two years of social distancing? Unfortunately, many people we interviewed exchanged fewer hugs with friends and family since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hugging has several health benefits, such as improved oxytocin levels, lowered blood pressure, and alleviated stress and anxiety. We created a human-sized haptic interface called HuggieBot to provide the benefits of hugs in situations when receiving a hug from another person is difficult or impossible. In this demonstration, participants of all shapes and sizes can walk up to HuggieBot, enter an embrace, perform several intra-hug gestures (hold still, rub, pat, or squeeze the robot) if desired, feel the robot's response, and leave the hug when they are ready.

Project Page [BibTex]

Project Page [BibTex]


User Study Dataset for Endowing a {NAO} Robot with Practical Social-Touch Perception
User Study Dataset for Endowing a NAO Robot with Practical Social-Touch Perception

Burns, R. B., Lee, H., Seifi, H., Faulkner, R., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

Dataset published as a companion to the journal article "Endowing a NAO Robot with Practical Social-Touch Perception" in Frontiers in Robotics and AI, April 2022 (misc)

DOI Project Page [BibTex]

DOI Project Page [BibTex]


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Robot, Pass Me the Tool: Handle Visibility Facilitates Task-Oriented Handovers

Ortenzi, V., Filipovica, M., Abdlkarim, D., Pardi, T., Takahashi, C., Wing, A. M., Luca, M. D., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

In Proceedings of the ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), pages: 256-264, March 2022, Valerio Ortenzi and Maija Filipovica contributed equally to this publication. (inproceedings)

Abstract
A human handing over an object modulates their grasp and movements to accommodate their partner's capabilities, which greatly increases the likelihood of a successful transfer. State-of-the-art robot behavior lacks this level of user understanding, resulting in interactions that force the human partner to shoulder the burden of adaptation. This paper investigates how visual occlusion of the object being passed affects the subjective perception and quantitative performance of the human receiver. We performed an experiment in virtual reality where seventeen participants were tasked with repeatedly reaching to take a tool from the hand of a robot; each of the three tested objects (hammer, screwdriver, scissors) was presented in a wide variety of poses. We carefully analysed the user's hand and head motions, the time to grasp the object, and the chosen grasp location, as well as participants' ratings of the grasp they just performed. Results show that initial visibility of the handle significantly increases the reported holdability and immediate usability of a tool. Furthermore, a robot that offers objects so that their handles are more occluded forces the receiver to spend more time in planning and executing the grasp and also lowers the probability that the tool will be grasped by the handle. Together these findings indicate that robots can more effectively support their human work partners by increasing the visibility of the intended grasp location of objects being passed.

DOI Project Page [BibTex]

DOI Project Page [BibTex]

2021


Sensorimotor-Inspired Tactile Feedback and Control Improve Consistency of Prosthesis Manipulation in the Absence of Direct Vision
Sensorimotor-Inspired Tactile Feedback and Control Improve Consistency of Prosthesis Manipulation in the Absence of Direct Vision

Thomas, N., Fazlollahi, F., Brown, J. D., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

In Proceedings of the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), pages: 6174-6181, Prague, Czech Republic, September 2021 (inproceedings)

Abstract
The lack of haptically aware upper-limb prostheses forces amputees to rely largely on visual cues to complete activities of daily living. In contrast, non-amputees inherently rely on conscious haptic perception and automatic tactile reflexes to govern volitional actions in situations that do not allow for constant visual attention. We therefore propose a myoelectric prosthesis system that reflects these concepts to aid manipulation performance without direct vision. To implement this design, we constructed two fabric-based tactile sensors that measure contact location along the palmar and dorsal sides of the prosthetic fingers and grasp pressure at the tip of the prosthetic thumb. Inspired by the natural sensorimotor system, we use the measurements from these sensors to provide vibrotactile feedback of contact location and implement a tactile grasp controller with reflexes that prevent over-grasping and object slip. We compare this tactile system to a standard myoelectric prosthesis in a challenging reach-to-pick-and-place task conducted without direct vision; 17 non-amputee adults took part in this single-session between-subjects study. Participants in the tactile group achieved more consistent high performance compared to participants in the standard group. These results show that adding contact-location feedback and reflex control increases the consistency with which objects can be grasped and moved without direct vision in upper-limb prosthetics

DOI Project Page [BibTex]

2021

DOI Project Page [BibTex]


Teaching Safe Social Touch Interactions Using a Robot Koala
Teaching Safe Social Touch Interactions Using a Robot Koala

Burns, R. B.

Workshop paper (1 page) presented at the IROS Workshop on Proximity Perception in Robotics: Increasing Safety for Human-Robot Interaction Using Tactile and Proximity Perception, Prague, Czech Republic, September 2021 (misc)

link (url) Project Page [BibTex]

link (url) Project Page [BibTex]


Vibrotactile Playback for Teaching Sensorimotor Skills in Medical Procedures
Vibrotactile Playback for Teaching Sensorimotor Skills in Medical Procedures

Gourishetti, R., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

Hands-on demonstration presented at the IEEE World Haptics Conference (WHC), July 2021 (misc)

Project Page [BibTex]

Project Page [BibTex]


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Optimal Grasp Selection, and Control for Stabilising a Grasped Object, with Respect to Slippage and External Forces

Pardi, T., E., A. G., Ortenzi, V., Stolkin, R.

In Proceedings of the IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots (Humanoids 2020), pages: 429-436, Munich, Germany, July 2021 (inproceedings)

Abstract
This paper explores the problem of how to grasp an object, and then control a robot arm so as to stabilise that object, under conditions where: i) there is significant slippage between the object and the robot's fingers; and ii) the object is perturbed by external forces. For an n degrees of freedom (dof) robot, we treat the robot plus grasped object as an (n+1) dof system, where the grasped object can rotate between the robot's fingers via slippage. Firstly, we propose an optimisation-based algorithm that selects the best grasping location from a set of given candidates. The best grasp is one that will yield the minimum effort for the arm to keep the object in equilibrium against external perturbations. Secondly, we propose a controller which brings the (n+1) dof system to a task configuration, and then maintains that configuration robustly against matched and unmatched disturbances. To minimise slippage between gripper and grasped object, a sufficient criterion for selecting the control coefficients is proposed by adopting a set of inequalities, which are obtained solving a non-linear minimisation problem, dependant on the static friction estimation. We demonstrate our approach on a simulated (2+1) planar robot, comprising two joints of the robot arm, plus the additional passive joint which is formed by the slippage between the object and the robot's fingers. We also present an experiment with a real robot arm, grasping a flat object between the fingers of a parallel jaw gripper.

DOI [BibTex]

DOI [BibTex]