Validation of Snaptics: A Modular Approach to Low-Cost Wearable Multi-Sensory Haptics

Wearable haptic devices provide touch feedback to users for applications including virtual reality, prosthetics, and navigation. When these devices are designed for experimental validation in research settings, they are often highly specialized and customized to the specific application being studied. As such, it can be difficult to replicate device hardware due to the associated high costs of customized components and the complexity of their design and construction. In this work, we present Snaptics, a simple and modular platform designed for rapid prototyping of fully wearable multi-sensory haptic devices using 3D-printed modules and inexpensive off-the-shelf components accessible to the average hobbyist. We demonstrate the versatility of the modular system and the salience of haptic cues produced by wearables constructed with Snaptics modules in two human subject experiments. First, we report on the identification accuracy of multi-sensory haptic cues delivered by a Snaptics device. Second, we compare the effectiveness of the Snaptics Vibrotactile Bracelet to the Syntacts Bracelet, a high-fidelity wearable vibration feedback bracelet, in assisting participants with a virtual reality sorting task. Results indicate that participant performance was comparable in perceiving cue sets and in completing tasks when interacting with low-cost Snaptics devices as compared to a similar research-grade haptic wearables.