A Wearable System Integrating Force Myography and Skin Stretch Feedback toward Force Skill Learning

We propose a wearable system integrating force myography (FMG) and skin stretch toward force skill learning, and describe its basic evaluation. The efficacy of learning sports, rehabilitation, and vocational skills is expected to be improved through the use of motion learning systems. Among the skills, force coordination skills, in particular, often require long-term experience to master because visual information may not be available. The system proposed in this study integrates body motion estimation by FMG and skin stretch haptic feedback to provide feedback cues from the current force output to the target force output. After evaluating the performance of the system in terms of sensing and haptic presentation, an initial user study was conducted to assess the feasibility of force guidance in practice. The system was found to output force intensity relative to varied static target forces, indicating its efficacy. Based on the results of the experiments, we discuss future issues and potential applications.