Copyright © Françoise Herrmann
Foldaway, a spinoff company from the Reconfigurable Robotics Laboratory (RRL) of the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne, in Switzerland (EPFL- Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), brings origami-inspired research to haptic interfaces, on thumbsticks in particular. For example, with Foldaway technology, Virtual Reality (VR) users are provided with an added sense of touch of the resilience of a rubber ball (RRL-EPFL 1; RRL-EPFL 2). The video below shows this sensory experience added to a thumbstick, using an origami-inspired pop-up haptic interface.
At the Computer Electronics Show (CES) of Las Vegas, in 2019, Foldaway demonstrated their origami-inspired technology on a VR Game called LamaSlam, where the VR payers obtain an added sense of touch, for example, for how slippery or heavy, the various creature characters of the game feel, when users try to pick them up (Lang, 2019). An invention, that paves the way to a more tactile shopping experience. Imagine, for example, being able to determine how light a pair of shoes, or how resilient their soles. Likewise, how soft or light the cashmere, you are contemplating to purchase.
The Foldaway, foldable, origami-inspired, pop-up actuator invention is recited in the mechanical engineering patent application US20180038461A1, titled Planar Pop-Up Actuator Device with Embedded Electro-Magnetic Actuation. The exploded patent Figure 1 drawing, showing the various layers of the pop-up actuator is included below, together with a video, showing the versatility of the popup foldable actuator, including the thumbstick application.
The abstract of this invention is also include below:
A planar actuator device, including a base plate including a first, second, and third pair of planar coils, each pair of planar coils having an inner coil and an outer coil, each pair of planar coils arranged along a first, second, and third linear motion axis, respectively, the first, second, and third linear motion axis arranged in a star configuration, and an actuation mechanism including a first, second, and third planar legs and a centerpiece, the first, second and third planar legs pivotably connected to the centerpiece, the planar legs including a first, second, and third sliding element and a first, second, and third middle section, respectively, a sliding element and middle section of a respective leg pivotably connected to each other, each sliding element including a permanent magnet. [Abstact US20180038461A1]
Foldaway Haptics - Robotics. http://www.foldaway-haptics.com/
Lang, B. (Jan. 1, 2019) Foldaway Haptics is Making a Thumbstick for VR Controllers That Pushes Back. https://www.roadtovr.com/foldaway-haptics-thumbstick-vr-controller-pushes-back-ces-2019/
RRL - EPFL (1) News - Reconfigurable Robotics Laboratory - Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne. https://actu.epfl.ch/search/RRL/
RRL - EPFL (2) A little fold-up joystick brings haptics to portable devices. Reconfigurable Robotics Laboratory - Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne. https://actu.epfl.ch/news/a-little-fold-up-joystick-brings-haptics-to-port-5/
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