Principal Investigator Lynette Jones
Project Website http://www.cutaneous.mit.edu/
The Cutaneous Sensory Lab in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT is focused on developing tactile, haptic and thermal displays that can be used in a variety of applications. We adopt a systems-level approach to developing and implementing these displays in which we (1) characterize the actuators (mechanical or thermal) used in the display, (2) measure their performance when mounted on the skin, (3) analyze the skin’s properties and how these vary at different locations on the body and across individuals, and (4) conduct a variety of psychophysical studies to determine how users perceive these various forms of stimulation. These technologies can be used in a variety of applications and so we also do research on how they can be used in different domains.