Contents
25 April 2018
Vol 3, Issue 17
Vol 3, Issue 17
Focus
- Cybathlon: How to promote the development of assistive technologies
Cybathlon invites people with disabilities to compete by solving everyday tasks with support from new assistance technologies.
- Exoskeletal cyborg-type robot
Cybernics—the fusion of humans, robots, and information systems—is shaping the way toward novel methods of medical care.
- Westworld and the uncanny valley
HBO’s Westworld is located to the right of the uncanny valley and left of government regulations.
- The uncanny valley of haptics
During virtual experiences, enhanced haptic feedback incongruent with other sensory cues can reduce subjective realism.
- Can robots assemble an IKEA chair?
The limits of robotic manipulation were explored by automatic assembly of an IKEA chair.
Research Articles
- Translucent soft robots driven by frameless fluid electrode dielectric elastomer actuators
Translucent, undulating actuators are developed for submersible, swimming, soft robotic applications.
- Controlling sensation intensity for electrotactile stimulation in human-machine interfaces
Modulating electrotactile stimulation parameters in response to changes in impedance reduces variation in perceived sensation.
- Soft erythrocyte-based bacterial microswimmers for cargo delivery
Erythrocyte-based microswimmers offer superior efficiency, stability, and deformability for active and guided cargo delivery.
- Geometric constraints and optimization in externally driven propulsion
The optimal propulsion of magnetic micromachines with preprogrammed and random shapes is theoretically investigated.
About The Cover
ONLINE COVER Virtual Valley. Augmented and virtual reality environments have the potential to affect a range of work environments, from factories to operating rooms. Berger et al. studied participants during teleoperation and virtual reality experiences and found that enhanced haptic feedback incongruent with other sensory cues could reduce subjective realism, producing an uncanny valley of haptics. Thus, designers of human-robot interactions cannot simply assume that more (or more realistic) haptics is better. As experiences move beyond purely visual displays and integrate richer feedback from multiple senses, including haptic and auditory sensations, mismatches become possible and may undermine "improvements" to haptic rendering. [CREDIT: ZAPP2PHOTO/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM]