Toyoda Gosei to Give Presentation on e-Rubber Haptics at International Computer Graphics Conference

Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. will give a presentation on tactile technology (haptics) using e-Rubber at SIGGRAPH 2019,1 an international conference showcasing the latest technology in computer graphics and related fields. The conference will be held from July 28 through August 1 in Los Angeles.

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HAPTIC PLASTeR (Graphic: Business Wire)

HAPTIC PLASTeR (Graphic: Business Wire)

Haptics is the field of technology that artificially reproduces sensations felt when an object is touched, using vibration or other motion. When added to visual and auditory stimuli, tactility will impart a greater sense of reality and improved operability in games, remote operation of robots, and other applications. Accordingly, haptic technologies that can accurately reproduce a wide range of tactile sensations are desired.

Toyoda Gosei and the Embodied Media Project of the Keio University Graduate School of Media Design (KMD) have been conducting joint research and development on haptics using e-Rubber, a next-generation rubber that contracts when voltage is applied. One result of this collaboration is HAPTIC PLASTeR, a thin, soft, and wearable adhesive plaster-like device. This joint team will give a presentation on HAPTIC PLASTeR in the Emerging Technologies program at SIGGRAPH, which covers the latest technologies. With this technology, still under developed, it is able to reproduce2 the softness of objects with high accuracy based on the characteristics of e-Rubber. It has potential applications in a wide range of uses, including the transmission of tactile information.

Toyoda Gosei and KMD will use this as an opportunity for greater cooperation, and will accelerate research and development on devices using e-Rubber for the creation of new experiential value with haptics.

1

Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques. This conference has been called the world’s largest and most important computer graphics festival. It has been held in the USA every year since 1974. Google, Facebook, Disney and other leading companies are among those giving technical presentations.

2

Fine control of contraction of e-Rubber is possible according to the voltage. e-Rubber can therefore produce vibrations with complex waveforms even in low frequency ranges (below 200 Hz) that reproduce a plump or elastic softness.