Facebook Technologies, LLC

Nathan Scot Usevitch

Nicholas Colonnese

Andrew Stanley

Thomas John Farrell Wallin

Yigit Menguc

Amirhossein Hajiagha Memar

Laura Blumenschein

Jan Fras

A fluidic haptic device includes a chamber, a compressible or incompressible fluid disposed within the chamber, and an actuatable element in hydraulic or pneumatic contact with the fluid. The actuatable element is adapted to be displaced by movement of a user of the device, which can apply pressure to the fluid. The haptic device may interact directly with one or more body parts of a user, including the user's skin, and may be operable without an external pressure source.

Fluidic haptic device operable by user movement

An actuation apparatus may be configured to apply forces to a user's skin using flexible-membrane actuators. Such an apparatus may include (i) an array of actuator chambers that include a flexible material layer enclosing a changeable volume of fluid, (ii) a contact surface that is coupled to each actuator chamber, and (iii) a support framework that is coupled to the actuator chambers such that the array of actuator chambers is disposed between the support framework and the contact surface, and such that distortion of actuator chambers caused by changing the volume of fluid within the actuator chambers causes the array of actuator chambers to exert forces on the contact surface and cause movement of the contact surface.

Apparatuses, systems, and methods for actuating a contact surface

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Redmond, WA, United States of America

Nathan Scot Usevitch