CN108733198A - Egersimeter system for generating artificial tactile and artificial tactile production method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to for generating artificial tactile egersimeter system and artificial tactile production method, system include that the microcontroller being linked in sequence, constant current output adjust circuit, switching circuit and electrode plate；The microcontroller is connect with switching circuit, is also connect with host computer by communication interface circuit.Method includes：Microcontroller circuit receives tactile intensity Two dimensional Distribution information and tactile information from host computer, adjust the electric current output intensity that constant current output adjusts circuit, according to tactile information, changes the state of each switch in stimulus signal switching circuit by timesharing, realize different stimulus modalities.The present invention realizes the electro photoluminescence of multiplex mode by changing Switch State Combination in Power Systems based on high pressure optoelectronic switch array approaches.The present invention can generate true vibrations, compressing experience on the skin, and have good position resolution.

Description

Electrical stimulator system for generating artificial sense of touch and method for generating artificial sense of touch

technical field

The present invention relates to the field of virtual reality. Specifically, it is a tactile virtual reality system and a virtual tactile generation method for helping to enhance the sense of presence.

Background technique

Vision, touch, and hearing are the most important sensory components of living things. Although studies have shown that 80% of the information that humans and animals perceive the external world comes from vision, but when it comes to fine and dexterous operations, touch is still the most reliable way of perception.

Virtual reality technology is a computer simulation system that can create and experience a virtual world. It uses a computer to generate a simulated environment. Immerse yourself in that environment. The current virtual reality technology mainly uses the principle of binocular vision to create a three-dimensional virtual environment through VR glasses, VR helmets, etc., with a surround sound system. In the future, virtual reality will not only involve the senses of sight and hearing, but also the senses of smell, touch and taste, and construct a world similar to the real environment.

Among various techniques for artificially generating virtual tactile sensation, electrotactile sensation has attracted extensive attention due to its characteristics of flexible stimulation, simple implementation device, precise and controllable stimulation pulse amplitude and frequency, etc. Electric tactile sensation is the principle of simulating skin receptors to generate sensation potentials for physical stimulation. Stimulation pulses directly act on the skin surface distributed with mechanoreceptors, and during the stimulation process, parameters such as the amplitude and frequency of applied stimulation pulses are changed and electrode distribution, A tactile reproduction method that causes people to experience sensations such as vibration and pressure due to current polarity and other factors.

In the prior art, the skin receptors are mainly stimulated by single-point or linearly distributed electrodes to generate tactile sensation. This type of method is only suitable for experiments for the study of electrotactile mechanisms, but cannot generate complex tactile patterns on a two-dimensionally distributed plane, so it cannot be applied to generate real-time tactile experiences in virtual reality environments.

Contents of the invention

In view of the above-mentioned technical deficiencies, the present invention provides an electrical stimulator system and a method for generating artificial tactile sensation on two-dimensional flat skin, which can generate real vibration and compression experience on the skin, and have good position resolution ability .

The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve its technical problems is: an electric stimulator system for producing artificial touch, including a sequentially connected microcontroller, a constant current output regulation circuit, a switching circuit and an electrode plate; the microcontroller and The switching circuit is connected, and also connected with the upper computer through the communication interface circuit.

The switching circuit includes a plurality of switching units.

The switch unit includes two high-voltage photoelectric switches; the anodes of the two high-voltage photoelectric switches are connected to the microcontroller, and the cathodes of the two high-voltage photoelectric switches are grounded; the collector of the first high-voltage photoelectric switch is connected to the output terminal of the constant current output regulation circuit connected, the emitter of the first high-voltage photoelectric switch is connected with the collector of the second high-voltage photoelectric switch and connected with the electrode plate as an output terminal; the emitter of the second high-voltage photoelectric switch is grounded.

The electrode plate is a flexible electrode plate.

The base material of the electrode plate is a polyimide film.

The electrode plate is an electrode plate manufactured by FPC technology.

A plurality of electrode points are distributed on the electrode plate, and each electrode point is connected to the switch unit through a lead wire.

The electrode points are evenly distributed in a square array.

The method for producing artificial sense of touch, comprising the following steps:

Fix the electrode plate on the surface of the skin so that the skin is in contact with the electrode point;

The microcontroller adjusts the current output intensity of the constant current output regulation circuit according to the two-dimensional distribution information of the tactile intensity and the tactile type information from the host computer, and according to the tactile type information, changes the state of each switch in the switching circuit by time-sharing to realize different stimulation mode;

Each electrode point on the electrode plate outputs current or recycles current at different times, forms a circuit with the subcutaneous tactile receptors of the human body, stimulates the corresponding neurons to generate action potentials, and thus produces artificial tactile sensation.

The different stimulation modes realized by changing the state of each switch in the switching circuit by time sharing include:

RA mode: an electrode in the electrode plate outputs positive current, and the corresponding tactile type is low-frequency vibration;

The first high-voltage photoelectric switch of the switch unit corresponding to the positive current output electrode is turned on, and the second high-voltage photoelectric switch is turned off; the first high-voltage photoelectric switch and the second high-voltage photoelectric switch of the switch unit corresponding to the adjacent electrodes are both in the off state; positive current output The first high-voltage photoelectric switch of the switch unit corresponding to the non-adjacent electrode of the electrode is turned off, and the second high-voltage photoelectric switch is turned on;

PC mode: multiple electrodes in the electrode plate output negative current, and the corresponding tactile type is high-frequency vibration;

The first high-voltage photoelectric switch of the switch unit corresponding to the negative current output electrode is turned off, and the second high-voltage photoelectric switch is turned on; the first high-voltage photoelectric switch of the switch unit corresponding to the other electrodes is turned on, and the second high-voltage photoelectric switch is turned off;

SAI mode: Adjacent electrodes in the electrode plate alternately output positive and negative currents, and the corresponding tactile type is pressure sense;

The first high-voltage photoelectric switch of the switch unit corresponding to the positive current output electrode is turned on, and the second high-voltage photoelectric switch is turned off; the first high-voltage photoelectric switch of the adjacent negative current output electrode is turned off, and the second high-voltage photoelectric switch is turned on .

Beneficial effect and advantage of the present invention:

1. The present invention has simple structure, convenient operation, and can realize multiple modes of stimulation without changing the circuit structure. Compared with the prior art, the present invention can realize more flexible and diverse electrical stimulation modes.

2. The switch unit of the present invention adopts two transistor output high-voltage photoelectric switches, which can form a programmable single-pole double-throw switch array, and realize different tactile sensations through the switch state.

3. The circuit board used in the present invention is a flexible circuit board with a polyimide film base material, which can fit human skin well.

4. The present invention is based on the high-voltage photoelectric switch array scheme, and realizes multiple modes of electrical stimulation by changing the combination of switch states. It can produce real vibration and compression experience on the skin, and has good position resolution ability.

Description of drawings

Fig. 1 is a structural representation of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is the constant current output regulating circuit in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a single switch unit in the switching circuit in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4a is a schematic diagram of a switching unit in which the high side is turned on and the low side is turned off;

Fig. 4b is a schematic diagram of a switch unit with high-side cut-off and low-side cut-off;

Fig. 4c is a schematic diagram of a state where the high side is cut off and the low side is turned on;

Figure 5a is a schematic diagram of RA stimulation mode;

Figure 5b is a schematic diagram of PC stimulation mode;

Figure 5c is a schematic diagram of SAI stimulation mode;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the stimulating electrode plate in FIG. 1 .

Detailed ways

The present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the examples.

The invention fixes the stimulating electrode plate on the surface of the skin that needs to produce artificial tactile sensation, so that the skin and the electrode points are fully contacted. The microcontroller circuit receives the two-dimensional distribution information of the tactile intensity and the tactile type information from the upper computer through the communication interface circuit, adjusts the current output intensity of the constant current output regulation circuit according to the tactile intensity information, and changes the stimulation signal by time division according to the tactile type information Switch the state of each switch in the circuit to achieve different stimulation modes. Each electrode point outputs current or recycles current at different times, forms a circuit with the human subcutaneous tactile receptors, stimulates the corresponding neurons to generate action potentials, and thus produces the desired artificial touch.

An electrical stimulator system for generating artificial tactile sensation, comprising a constant current output adjustment circuit, a microcontroller circuit, a communication interface circuit, a stimulation signal switching circuit and a multi-point stimulation electrode plate; the communication interface circuit, the stimulation signal switching circuit Interface with the microcontroller circuit. The microcontroller is connected with the constant current output regulation circuit through DA conversion.

The constant current output regulation circuit consists of four transistors and an operational amplifier. The constant current output control circuit is composed of four transistors and an operational amplifier. When the connected load impedance is not greater than 40 kΩ, the output current can be continuously adjusted within the range of 0 ~ 1mA. The non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier is connected with the reference voltage Vref provided by the microcontroller, and the collector of the transistor Q2 is connected with the switching circuit.

The communication interface circuit is an RS422 interface chip.

The stimulating signal switching circuit is composed of a plurality of switching units, and each switching unit is connected to a stimulating electrode.

The switching unit in the stimulation signal switching circuit is two transistor output high-voltage photoelectric switches connected in a bridge structure. The collector pin of the high-voltage photoelectric switch in the high-side position is connected to the output terminal of the constant current output regulation circuit, and is in the low-side position. The emitter pin of the high voltage photoelectric switch in the position is connected to the ground of the constant current output regulation circuit. The emitter pin of the photoelectric switch in the high side position and the collector pin of the photoelectric switch in the low side position are jointly connected to an electrode point.

The multi-point stimulation electrode board is manufactured by FPC technology. The material is polyimide film, which can fit any skin surface. The surface is distributed with multiple electrode points according to the position where the tactile sensation needs to be generated. Each electrode point is connected to the corresponding switch unit through a lead wire. connect.

The method for producing artificial sense of touch, comprising the following steps:

Fix the stimulating electrode plate on the surface of the skin that needs to produce artificial tactile sensation, so that the skin is fully in contact with the electrode point. The microcontroller circuit receives the two-dimensional distribution information of the tactile intensity and the tactile type information from the upper computer through the communication interface circuit, adjusts the current output intensity of the constant current output regulation circuit according to the tactile intensity information, and changes the stimulation signal by time division according to the tactile type information Switch the state of each switch in the circuit to achieve different stimulation modes. Each electrode point outputs current or recycles current at different times, forms a circuit with the human subcutaneous tactile receptors, stimulates the corresponding neurons to generate action potentials, and thus produces the desired artificial touch.

The positive current generation method is that the high-side part of the switch unit corresponding to the positive current output electrode is turned on, and the low-side part is cut off; the high-side part and the low-side part of the switch unit corresponding to the surrounding electrodes are both off; the distance from the positive current output electrode is relatively short. The high side part of the switch unit corresponding to the far electrode is turned off, and the low side part is turned on.

The method of generating negative current output by multiple electrodes is that the high side part of the switch unit corresponding to the negative current output electrode is turned off, and the low side part is turned on; the high side part of the switch unit corresponding to other electrodes is turned on, and the low side part is turned off.

Adjacent electrodes alternately output positive and negative currents. The generation method is that the high-side part of the switch unit corresponding to the positive current output electrode is turned on, and the low-side part is turned off; the high-side part of the switch unit corresponding to the adjacent negative current output electrode is turned off, and the low-side part is turned off. Partially turned on. As shown in Figure 4a-Figure 4c.

As shown in Figure 1, a kind of electric stimulator system for producing artificial touch, comprises the constant current output adjustment circuit, microcontroller circuit, communication interface circuit, stimulation signal switching circuit and multi-point stimulation electrode board connected in sequence; The communication interface circuit, the stimulation signal switching circuit are connected with the microcontroller circuit.

The constant current output regulating circuit is shown in FIG. 2 , which mainly consists of four transistors and an operational amplifier to form a constant current output control circuit. The left end of Figure 2 is the reference voltage input terminal. When the connected load impedance is not greater than 40 kΩ, and the reference input terminal voltage varies between 0 and 1V, the circuit can output a continuously adjustable current within the range of 0 to 1mA. The reference input voltage can be output by the microcontroller circuit through the D/A converter. Preferably, the transistor is a P350T05 triode, and the operational amplifier is an LM358 integrated operational amplifier chip.

The communication interface circuit is an RS422 interface chip, and the communication interface chip is directly connected with the UART interface of the micro-controller circuit to realize the level conversion of the communication signal. The other end of the communication interface chip is connected to the PC to realize receiving tactile information from the PC. Preferably, a MAX488 communication interface chip is used.

The stimulation signal switching circuit is composed of a plurality of switch units, and each switch unit is connected to a stimulation electrode.

As shown in Figure 3, the switching unit in the said stimulation signal switching circuit is two transistor output type high voltage photoelectric switches connected by a bridge structure, the collector pin of the high voltage photoelectric switch in the high side position and the constant current output regulation circuit The output terminal is connected, and the emitter pin of the high-voltage photoelectric switch in the low-side position is connected to the ground of the constant current output regulation circuit. The emitter pin of the photoelectric switch in the high side position and the collector pin of the photoelectric switch in the low side position are jointly connected to an electrode point. The high-side switch and the low-side switch in each switch unit are respectively provided with independent control signals by the microcontroller circuit. Preferably, both the high-side switch and the low-side switch can use a TLP127 high-voltage photocoupler chip.

The multi-point stimulation electrode board is manufactured by FPC technology, and its structure is shown in Figure 6. This flexible circuit board can fit any curved surface of the skin, and its surface distributes multiple electrode points according to the position where the tactile sensation needs to be generated. Each electrode point Connect with the corresponding switch unit through the lead wire.

When in use, the stimulating electrode plate is fixed on the surface of the skin that needs to produce artificial tactile sensation, so that the skin is fully in contact with the electrode point. The microcontroller circuit receives the two-dimensional distribution information of the tactile intensity and the tactile type information from the PC through the communication interface circuit, adjusts the current output intensity of the constant current output adjustment circuit according to the tactile intensity information, and changes the stimulation signal by time division according to the tactile type information Switch the state of each switch in the circuit to achieve different stimulation modes. Each electrode point outputs current (that is, the whole point of time) or recycles current (that is, negative current) at different times, and forms a circuit with the subcutaneous tactile receptors of the human body to stimulate the corresponding neurons to generate action potentials, thereby producing the desired artificial touch.

The stimulation modes mainly include single-electrode positive current stimulation mode (RA mode), multi-electrode negative current stimulation mode (PC mode), and multi-electrode alternating positive current stimulation mode (SAI mode). In the present invention, the specific generation methods and their corresponding tactile types are:

RA mode: Stimulate a certain electrode in the electrode board to output positive current, and the corresponding tactile type is mainly low-frequency vibration;

PC mode: Multiple electrodes in the stimulating electrode board output negative current, and the corresponding tactile type is mainly high-frequency vibration;

SAI mode: Adjacent electrodes in the stimulating electrode board alternately output positive and negative currents, and the corresponding tactile sensation is mainly pressure.

The specific implementation of these three modes is shown in Figure 5a-Figure 5c: when the RA mode is used, the black dot in the figure represents the positive current output electrode, and the high side part of the corresponding switch unit is turned on, and the low side part is turned off; White dots represent no output electrodes, and the corresponding high side and low side parts of the switch unit are both off; gray dots represent negative current output electrodes, and the corresponding high side part of the switch unit is off, and the low side part is on. The electrodes that output positive current and the electrodes that output negative current form a circuit under the skin, and the black arrows represent the stimulating current. Similarly, electrical stimulation in PC mode and SAI mode can be realized by changing the combined state combination of the switch unit corresponding to each electrode.

Claims (10)

1. for generating the egersimeter system of artificial tactile, which is characterized in that defeated including the microcontroller that is linked in sequence, constant current Go out to adjust circuit, switching circuit and electrode plate；The microcontroller is connect with switching circuit, also by communication interface circuit with it is upper Position machine connection.

2. the egersimeter system according to claim 1 for generating artificial tactile, it is characterised in that the switching electricity Road includes multiple switch unit.

3. the egersimeter system according to claim 2 for generating artificial tactile, it is characterised in that the switch is single Member includes two high pressure optoelectronic switches；The anode of two high pressure optoelectronic switches is connect with microcontroller, two high pressure optoelectronic switches Minus earth；The output end that the collector of first high pressure optoelectronic switch adjusts circuit with constant current output is connect, the first high press polish The emitter of electric switch, the second high pressure optoelectronic switch collector connect and connect with electrode plate as output end；Second high pressure The emitter of optoelectronic switch is grounded.

4. the egersimeter system according to claim 1 for generating artificial tactile, it is characterised in that the electrode plate For flexible electrical pole plate.

5. the egersimeter system according to claim 4 for generating artificial tactile, it is characterised in that the electrode plate Base material is Kapton.

6. the egersimeter system according to claim 1 for generating artificial tactile, it is characterised in that the electrode plate For using the electrode plate of FPC techniques manufacture.

7. the egersimeter system according to claim 1 for generating artificial tactile, it is characterised in that the electrode plate Upper distribution multiple electrodes point, each electrode points are connect by lead with switch unit.

8. the egersimeter system according to claim 1 for generating artificial tactile, it is characterised in that the electrode points Squarely array is uniformly distributed.

9. artificial tactile production method, feature include the following steps：

Electrode plate is fixed on skin surface, makes skin and electrode point contact；

Microcontroller adjusts constant current output tune according to tactile intensity Two dimensional Distribution information and tactile information from host computer The electric current output intensity on economize on electricity road, and according to tactile information, change the state of each switch in switching circuit by timesharing, Realize different stimulus modalities；

Each electrode points on electrode plate are formed back in different moments output current or recycling electric current with the subcutaneous thigmoreceptor of human body Road stimulates corresponding neuron fires, to generate artificial tactile.

10. artificial tactile production method according to claim 9, it is characterised in that described to change switching circuit by timesharing In each switch state, realize that different stimulus modalities includes：

RA patterns：Some electrode exports positive current in electrode plate, and corresponding tactile type is low-frequency vibration；

Corresponding the first high pressure of the switch unit optoelectronic switch conducting of positive current output electrode, the cut-off of the second high pressure optoelectronic switch；Its Switch unit the first high pressure optoelectronic switch corresponding to adjacent electrode and the second high pressure optoelectronic switch are cut-off state；Positive current is defeated Go out corresponding the first high pressure of the switch unit optoelectronic switch cut-off of non-adjacent electrode of electrode, the conducting of the second high pressure optoelectronic switch；

PC patterns：Multiple electrodes export negative current in electrode plate, and corresponding tactile type is high-frequency vibration；

Corresponding the first high pressure of the switch unit optoelectronic switch cut-off of negative current output electrode, the conducting of the second high pressure optoelectronic switch；Its Corresponding the first high pressure of the switch unit optoelectronic switch conducting of his electrode, the cut-off of the second high pressure optoelectronic switch；

SAI patterns：Alternately output reversal, corresponding tactile type are pressure sensitivity to adjacent electrode in electrode plate；

Corresponding the first high pressure of the switch unit optoelectronic switch conducting of positive current output electrode, the cut-off of the second high pressure optoelectronic switch；With Corresponding the first high pressure of the switch unit optoelectronic switch cut-off of adjacent negative current output electrode, the second high pressure optoelectronic switch leads It is logical.