Developing a Modular Toolkit for Rapid Prototyping of Wearable Vibrotactile Haptic Harness

TL;DR

This paper tackles the barrier to rapid prototyping of wearable vibrotactile haptic hardware by presenting a modular harness toolkit built from off-the-shelf materials, 3D-printed joints, magnetic fasteners, and sheet-based mounting. The core approach combines a tile-and-cuff system with adjustable geometry and a cost-effective fabrication pathway (Tyvek, EVA foam, Cricut/vinyl cutter) to support customizable actuator layouts on limbs. Key contributions include clearly stated design principles (modularity, customizability, accessibility), multiple iterative hardware configurations, and a plan for open-sourcing the toolkit to boost reproducibility and collaboration. The work promises to accelerate haptics research by enabling researchers to rapidly assemble and adapt harnesses for varied experiments while maintaining safety, hygiene, and durability considerations.

Abstract

This paper presents a toolkit for rapid harness prototyping. These wearable structures attach vibrotactile actuators to the body using modular elements like 3D printed joints, laser cut or vinyl cutter-based sheets and magnetic clasps. This facilitates easy customization and assembly. The toolkit's primary objective is to simplify the design of haptic wearables, making research in this field easier and more approachable.

Figures (3)

• Figure 1: First design scheme
• Figure 2: Current iteration of tile system
• Figure 3: The gridded cuff with an example actuator mounted