Modelling the human touch: A basic study for haptic technology

In human manipulation, the evaluation of the contact area as a function of the applied forces is fundamental for understanding impedance properties of the fingertip. This paper aims at contributing to the characterization of human fingertip mechanical properties which can be useful to reproduce grasping abilities to design and optimize new skin haptic interfaces. A Finite Element Model simulates the interaction between the fingertip and a flat plate, and the simulated results are compared both with experimental data available in literature and with results obtained by an innovative experimental protocol performed using 3D scanners. The present study represents a first step to develop a predictive stiffness and damping model to be used in the design of new cutaneous haptic interfaces.