Systems and devices for recording and reproducing senses

• US 10,152,116 B2
• Filed: 04/26/2012
• Issued: 12/11/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Regents of the University of California (University of California)
• Original Assignee: Regents of the University of California (University of California)
• Inventors: Wang, Deli, Vishniakou, Siarhei, Lewis, Brian Wellington, Nguyen, Truong, Kim, Young Ouk, Kim, Wonha
• Primary Examiner(s): Marinelli, Patrick F
• Application Number:
  US14/113,513
• Publication Number:
  US 20150220199A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,420 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0381 Multimodal input, i.e. interface arrangements enabling the user to issue commands by simultaneous use of input devices of different nature, e.g. voice plus gesture on digitizer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/014 Hand-worn input/output arrangements, e.g. data gloves
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/16 Sound input; Sound output speech processing G10L

Abstract

Systems and devices for recording and reproducing senses. One or more of touch sensations and smell sensations are received to produce at least one of touch input signals and smell input signals. The input signals are stored and processed, and at least one output signal can be produced. One or more of a touch output and a smell output can be generated. The touch input, the smell input, or both can be integrated with one or more of sight input and sound input.

Claims

1. A system for recording and reproducing sensations comprising:

at least one touch and smell input transducer disposed and configured to respectively receive touch sensations and detect smell and produce at least one touch input signal representative of the received touch sensation and one smell input signal representative of the smell;

a processor configured to receive the at least one touch input signal and the one smell input signal, store data from the at least one touch and smell input signal, and generate at least one touch output signal and smell output signal representative of the received touch sensation and smell, wherein the processor correlates data of the at least one touch and smell input signal with meta data provided by one or more of an object, event, or environment when the at least one touch and smell input signals are received by the at least one touch and smell input transducers, and store the correlated data in memory;

at least one touch output transducer configured to receive the correlated data from memory directed by the processor and generate a correlated touch output representative of the received touch sensation to reproduce the received touch sensation, and at least one smell output transducer configured to receive the correlated data from memory directed by the processor and generate a correlated smell output representative of the smell,

wherein the at least one touch and smell output transducer is disposed on a flexible substrate and wherein the at least one touch and smell input transducer and the at least one touch and smell output transducer is coupled to an active matrix of thin film transistors (TFT) disposed to integrate the at least one touch and smell input transducer and the at least one touch and smell output transducer.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one touch output transducer comprises:

an upper electrode providing an upper substrate, the upper electrode being coupled to a driver;

a lower electrode disposed on the flexible substrate; and

a flexible dielectric material disposed between the upper electrode and the lower electrode.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

at least one sight input transducer disposed and configured to receive sight sensations and produce at least one sight input signal representative of the received sight sensation;

at least one sight output transducer configured to receive a sight output signal from the processor and generate a sight output representative of the received sight sensation;

wherein the processor is configured to receive the at least one sight input signal, store sight input signal from the at least one sight input signal, correlate the sight input signal with the at least one touch and smell input signal and with meta data provided by one or more of an object, event, or environment , and provide the correlated data to the at least one sight output transducer to generate a correlated sight output signal representative of the received sight sensation.

4. The system of claim 3, further comprising:

at least one sound input transducer disposed and configured to receive sound sensations and produce at least one sound input signal representative of the received sound sensation;

at least one sound output transducer configured to receive a sight output signal from the processor and generate a sound output representative of the received sound;

wherein the processor is configured to receive the at least one sound input signal, store sound input signal from the at least one sound input signal, correlate the sound input signal with the at least one touch and smell input signal, the sight input signal, and with meta data provided by one or more of an object, event, or environment, and provide the correlated data to the at least one sound output transducer to generate a correlated sound output signal representative of the received sound sensation.

6. The system of claim 1

wherein the at least one smell input transducer comprises a chemical sensor;

wherein the chemical sensor comprises one or more of a MOSFET sensor, a metal oxide chemo-FET sensor, a quartz crystal microbalance sensor, a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) sensor, an optical absorption sensor, a mass spectrometry sensor, an ultra-fast gas chromatography sensor, and a nanowire sensor.

5. A system for recording and reproducing sensations comprising:

at least one touch and smell input transducer disposed and configured to respectively receive touch sensations and detect smell and produce at least one touch input signal representative of the received touch sensation and one smell input signal representative of the smell;

a processor configured to receive the at least one touch input signal and the one smell input signal, store data from the at least one touch and smell input signal, and generate at least one touch output signal and smell output signal representative of the received touch sensation and smell;

at least one touch output transducer configured to receive the touch output signal from the processor and generate a touch output representative of the received touch sensation to reproduce the received touch sensation, and at least one smell output transducer configured to receive the smell output signal from the processor and generate a smell output representative of the smell, wherein the at least one smell output transducers comprises;

a microfluidic device including a plurality of chambers, each of the plurality of chambers being accessible by a selectively operable valve and having a smell cartridge disposed therein;

wherein each of the selective operable valves is selectively opened in response to the smell output signal.

7. A method of recording and reproducing sensations comprising:

receiving touch sensations and smell with at least one touch and one smell input transducer and producing at least one touch and smell input signal representative of the received touch sensation and smell, wherein the touch input transducer is a glove that comprises temperature, texture and hardness sensors;

tracking the position of the glove and fingers in space to generate positional data;

storing data from the at least one touch and smell input signal;

generating at least one touch and smell output signal representative of the received touch sensation and smell;

receiving sight sensations and producing at least one sight input signal representative of the received sight sensation;

storing data from the at least one sight input signal;

integrating the sight input signal with the at least one touch and smell input signal, and the positional data, wherein the integrating includes correlating that data of the sight input signal, the positional data and the data of the at least one touch and smell input signal with one or more of an object, event or environment of said receiving; and

generating an output based on the integrating, wherein the output is through playback devices that reproduce an image, sound, smell and touch.

8. The method of claim 7

wherein receiving touch sensations and/or smell is performed on a first device;

wherein generating the output is performed on a second device.

9. The method of claim 7

wherein receiving touch sensations and generating the output are performed on the same device to provide interactive feedback.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

receiving sound sensations and producing at least one sound input signal representative of the received sound sensation;

storing data from the at least one sound input signal;

correlating the sound input signal with the at least one touch and/or smell input signal; and

generating the output based on correlating data.