Flip-Pelt: Motor-Driven Peltier Elements for Rapid Thermal Stimulation and Congruent Pressure Feedback in Virtual Reality

in Publication
Flip-Pelt: Motor-Driven Peltier Elements for Rapid Thermal Stimulation and Congruent Pressure Feedback in Virtual Reality

UIST ’24

Title: Flip-Pelt: Motor-Driven Peltier Elements for Rapid Thermal Stimulation and Congruent Pressure Feedback in Virtual Reality
Authors: Kang, S., Kim, G., Hwang, S., Park, J., Elsharkawy, A., and Kim, S.
Conference: The 37th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST ’24), Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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🧊 Project Overview

This paper presents “Flip-Pelt,” a motor-driven thermal haptic device designed to rapidly deliver warm and cool sensations paired with congruent pressure feedback for enhanced realism in virtual reality (VR).

Flip-Pelt integrates eight motor-driven dual-sided Peltier elements capable of swift rotation, allowing users to experience immediate temperature transitions between preheated and precooled surfaces. A specialized multi-layer structure, comprising aluminum and silicone, effectively manages thermal safety and comfort, enabling precise and timely feedback congruent with tactile sensations.

User studies demonstrate Flip-Pelt’s capability to significantly enhance the perception accuracy of thermal patterns and material stiffness through synchronized thermal and pressure stimuli. By closely aligning these sensations temporally with visual experiences in VR, Flip-Pelt substantially improves immersion, expressivity, realism, and overall user experience.

Additionally, the paper explores Flip-Pelt’s potential scalability, illustrating application concepts such as VR shoes for terrain simulation and VR controllers for object interaction, highlighting the device’s versatility for various body regions.

🔗 Link

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