Facebook, Inc.

Meta Platforms, Inc.

Brian Alexander Knott

Venkatasiva Prasad Chakkabala

Ali Israr

Robert Turcott

Freddy Abnousi

A method comprises inputting an audio signal into a machine learning circuit to compress the audio signal into a sequence of actuator signals. The machine learning circuit being trained by: receiving a training set of acoustic signals and pre-processing the training set of acoustic signals into pre-processed audio data. The pre-processed audio data including at least a spectrogram. The training further includes training the machine learning circuit using the pre-processed audio data. The neural network has a cost function based on a reconstruction error and a plurality of constraints. The machine learning circuit generates a sequence of haptic cues corresponding to the audio input. The sequence of haptic cues is transmitted to a plurality of cutaneous actuators to generate a sequence of haptic outputs.

Neural network model for generation of compressed haptic actuator signal from audio input

A haptic communication device includes a speech signal generator configured to receive speech sounds or a textual message and generate speech signals corresponding to the speech sounds or the textual message. An envelope encoder is operably coupled to the speech signal generator to extract a temporal envelope from the speech signals. The temporal envelope represents changes in amplitude of the speech signals. Carrier signals having a periodic waveform are generated. Actuator signals are generated by encoding the changes in the amplitude of the speech signals from the temporal envelope into the carrier signals. One or more cutaneous actuators are operably coupled to the envelope encoder to generate haptic vibrations representing the speech sounds or the textual message using the actuator signals.

Envelope encoding of speech signals for transmission to cutaneous actuators

Embodiments relate to enhancing haptic communication by using two or more cutaneous actuators to create constructive or destructive interference patterns on the receiving user's skin. The actuator signals for the two or more cutaneous actuators are shaped and generated so that the two or more cutaneous actuators cause vibrations on the receiving user's patch of skin to increase or decrease. In this way, various enhancement to haptic communication can be achieved.

Haptic communication using interference of haptic outputs on skin

A haptic device comprises a signal generator that is configured to receive an input word that is a unit of a language written using consonant-vowel pairs. The signal generator converts the input word into one or more consonant-vowel pairs of the input word. The signal generator further converts the one or more consonant-vowel pairs into a sequence of actuator signals. The sequence of actuator signals is formed from a concatenation of sub-sequences of actuator signals. Each phoneme corresponding to a unique sub-sequence of actuator signals. The haptic device further comprises a two dimensional array of cutaneous actuators configured to receive the sequence of actuator signals from the signal generator, each of the actuator signals mapped to a cutaneous actuator of the two dimensional array of cutaneous actuators.

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New York, NY, United States of America

Brian Alexander Knott