Steering Wheel Skin Stretch Haptic Feedback System

Engineers in Prof. Mark Cutkosky's laboratory have patented a compact, intuitive, haptic vehicle feedback system that communicates multi-dimensional information to drivers through the grip of the steering wheel. Current vehicle steering feedback systems rely on vibration (which only delivers discrete "on/off" information), sound and vision (which compete for a driver's attention with other auditory or visual tasks), and handwheel torque (which disrupts manual steering). Prof. Cutkosky's lab's alternative applies small shear forces to stretch the skin on the driver's hand, which communicates rich analog cues, including magnitude and direction information. The system provides a tactile signal regardless of the driver's hand position and does not affect the steering control. It is easy to program and control and is naturally reflexive for the driver, allowing instantaneous comprehension. This tool can be used for navigation, semi-autonomous vehicle intention notification, driver training, and safety applications to improve situational awareness.

Close-up view of the skin stretch produced by the steering wheel. Ring at front of the rim (highlighted yellow on left) can be gripped anywhere and can rotate 0.5 degrees, producing 2.5mm of skin stretch.

Stage of Development- Prototype
The inventors tested a prototype in a realistic on-road environment while driving a vehicle in suburban traffic. They demonstrated that drivers could easily perceive skin stretch cues and distinguish between a set of four stimuli of varying direction and displacement with reasonable accuracy even when competing against other sources of vibration as well as distractions inherent in driving. In a follow-up study, they found drivers could easily navigate an unknown course using only skin stretch cues, and these cues were better than auditory cues in the presence of a distracting task such as a phone call.