WO2024028980A1 - Remote touching assistance device and remote touching assistance method - Google Patents

Abstract

This remote touching assistance device comprises: a human body information transmission unit; and a touch information transmission unit. The human body information transmission unit acquires recipient-side information regarding a touch recipient from a touch recipient-side device worn by the touch recipient, generates human body information about the touch recipient, and outputs the human body information to a toucher-side device worn by a toucher. The touch information transmission unit acquires toucher-side information regarding a touch by the toucher from the toucher-side device, generates touch information about the touch by the toucher, and outputs the touch information to the touch recipient-side device.

Description

Remote touching support device and remote touching support method

The present invention relates to a remote touching support device and a remote touching support method.

In recent years, research and development of technologies that convey and display various sensations such as tactile, force, and thermal sensations have been progressing. For example, Japanese Patent No. 5954894 discloses a technique for transmitting thermal sensations. Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-98649 discloses a technique for presenting a tactile sensation.

Japanese Patent No. 5954894 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-98649

These techniques only teach unidirectional transmission of sensations, and have not yet taught bidirectional transmission of sensations.

An object of the present invention is to provide a remote touching support device and a remote touching support method that enable two-way transmission of sensory information.

One aspect of the present invention is a remote touching support device. The remote touching support device includes a human body information transmission section and a touching information transmission section. The human body information transmission unit acquires receiver side information about the touching receiver from a touching receiver device worn by the touching receiver, generates human body information of the touching receiver, and transmits the human body information to a touching receiver worn by the touching receiver. Output to the side device. The touching information transmission unit acquires hand side information regarding the touching of the touching hand from the touching hand side device, generates touching information of the touching hand, and outputs the touching information to the touching receiving side device.

One aspect of the present invention is a remote touching support method. The remote touching support method includes receiving receiving side information about the touching recipient from a touching receiving side device worn by the touching recipient, generating body information of the touching recipient, and transmitting the human body information to a touching receiving side device worn by the touching recipient. outputting the touching information to the device, receiving hand side information regarding the touching of the touching hand from the touching hand side device, generating touching information of the touching hand, and outputting the touching information to the touching receiving side device. have

According to the present invention, a remote touching support device and a remote touching support method are provided that enable two-way transmission of sensory information.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a remote touching support device according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a remote touching support device according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a flowchart diagram illustrating processing executed by the human body information transmission unit of the remote touching support device according to one embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flowchart diagram illustrating processing executed by the touching information transmission unit of the remote touching support device according to one embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing a remote touching operation performed using a remote touching support device according to an embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[Functional configuration]
With reference to FIG. 1, a remote touching support device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a remote touching support device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The remote touching support device 10 is a device that supports touching between two people located at a remote location. In other words, the remote touching support device 10 is a device that allows two people located in remote locations to touch each other in a simulated manner.

Here, touching refers to the act or movement in general of touching a person's body with another person's hands. For example, touching may include actions or movements such as applying hands, rubbing, kneading, pressing, acupressure, massaging, and the like.

Furthermore, for convenience, the person who receives touching will be referred to as the touching recipient, or simply the receiver, and the person who applies touching will be referred to as the person giving the touching, or simply the administering person. For example, the touch recipient is a grandmother, and the touch giver is a grandchild. Of course, the touching recipient and the touching recipient are not limited to these. For example, the relationship between the two may be various, such as the patient receiving the touch and the nurse giving the touch.

Additionally, it is assumed that the touching recipient and the touching person satisfy the following requirements.

When using the remote touching support device 10, the touch receiver wears the touch receiver side device 60, and the touch giver wears the touch giver side device 70.

The touching receiving device 60 is a clothing-type wearable device worn on the body. The touching hand device 70 is a glove-type wearable device worn on the hand.

For example, the touching receiving device 60 is of a type worn on the upper body like this. Of course, the touching receiving device 60 is not limited to this, and may be of various types, such as a type worn on the whole body or a type worn on a specific part of the body.

The touching receiving device 60 has a plurality of built-in position sensors. Furthermore, the touch receiver is in an environment where the three-dimensional position of each position sensor of the touch receiver device 60 can be detected. For example, you live in a house or room with a grid of sensors on the walls. Thereby, the touching recipient side device 60 can detect the three-dimensional position of each part of the touching recipient wearing the touching recipient side device 60. In other words, the touching recipient side device 60 can detect the position, posture, posture, etc. of the touching recipient. Furthermore, the touching recipient device 60 can transmit information on the three-dimensional position of each part of the touching recipient.

Furthermore, the touching receiving device 60 has a plurality of built-in temperature sensors. Thereby, the touching recipient side device 60 can detect the body temperature of each part of the touching recipient wearing the touching recipient side device 60. Furthermore, the touching recipient device 60 can transmit information on the body temperature of each part of the touching recipient.

Hereinafter, for convenience, information on the three-dimensional position and body temperature of each part of the touching recipient will be referred to as recipient side information.

The remote touching support device 10 acquires recipient side information from the touching recipient side device 60, generates human body information of a virtual human body representing the touching recipient, and outputs the human body information to the touching recipient side device 70.

The touching hand side device 70 has a function of receiving human body information and, based on the human body information, expressing the feeling of being touched by the touching recipient in a pseudo manner. For this reason, the touching hand side device 70 has a temperature control element and an actuator for each finger, for example. For example, the temperature control element warms the fingertips of the touching hand, and the actuator applies pressure to the fingertips of the touching hand. This allows the touching hand to receive a simulated sensation of being touched by the touching recipient through the touching hand side device 70 worn on the hand. Touch sensations include tactile sensation, force sensation, thermal sensation, etc. In other words, the touching hand side device 70 reproduces the human body information of the virtual human body representing the touching recipient as the feeling of the hands and fingers of the touching hand.

Furthermore, the touching hand side device 70 is capable of detecting the movement, temperature, etc. of the hand and fingers of the touching hand. For this reason, the touching device 70 includes, for example, a motion sensor, a pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, and the like. Furthermore, the touching device 70 can transmit information on motion, pressure, and temperature detected by these sensors.

Hereinafter, for convenience, information such as the position, movement, temperature, and pressure of the hand or fingers of the hand performing touching will be referred to as hand-side information. The user side information is information for reproducing the touching of the touching user.

The remote touching support device 10 acquires hand side information from the hand side device 70 that gives touch, generates touching information of the hand giving touch, and outputs the touching information to the device 60 of the touch recipient side.

The touching receiving device 60 has a function of receiving touching information and, based on the touching information, reproducing the touching of the touching person in a pseudo manner. For this reason, the touching receiving device 60 includes, for example, a plurality of actuators and a plurality of temperature control elements. For example, a plurality of actuators and a plurality of temperature control elements are distributed and arranged throughout the touch receiving device 60. For example, a plurality of actuators and a plurality of temperature control elements are provided on a plurality of protrusions arranged in a grid shape. For example, the plurality of projections can be extended and retracted independently of each other, and can be temperature adjusted.

As a result, the touching receiving device 60 is able to reproduce the touching of the touching hand, such as placing a hand on, rubbing, kneading, or the like. This allows the touching recipient to experience the touching of the touching person in a simulated manner.

Hereinafter, details of the remote touching support device 10 will be explained. The remote touching support device 10 includes a human body information transmitting section 20 and a touching information transmitting section 30.

The human body information transmission unit 20 acquires receiver side information regarding the touching receiver from the touching receiver side device 60 worn by the touching receiver, generates human body information of the touching receiver, and transmits the human body information to the touch receiver worn by the touching receiver. It is output to the administering side device 70.

The touching information transmission unit 30 acquires hand side information regarding the touching of the touching hand from the touching hand side device 70, generates touching information of the touching hand, and outputs the touching information to the touching receiving side device 60. .

The human body information transmission section 20 includes a receiver side information acquisition section 21 , a virtual human body generation section 22 , and a human body information output section 23 .

The receiver side information acquisition unit 21 acquires receiver side information from the touch receiver side device 60. The recipient side information acquisition unit 21 acquires three-dimensional position information at multiple locations on the body surface of the touching recipient and body temperature information at multiple locations as the recipient side information.

The virtual human body generation unit 22 generates a virtual human body that virtually represents the touching recipient based on the recipient side information acquired by the recipient side information acquisition unit 21. The virtual human body generation unit 22 expresses the virtual human body using a three-dimensional curved surface representing the body surface of the touch recipient and a body temperature distribution on the body surface of the touch recipient. Therefore, the virtual human body generation unit 22 calculates a three-dimensional curved surface representing the body surface of the touch recipient based on the three-dimensional position information of the plurality of locations, and also calculates the three-dimensional curved surface representing the body surface of the touch receiver based on the body temperature information of the plurality of locations. Calculate the body temperature distribution above.

The human body information output unit 23 outputs information regarding the virtual human body generated by the virtual human body generation unit 22 to the touching device 70 as human body information. Specifically, the human body information output unit 23 outputs, as human body information, information on a three-dimensional curved surface representing the body surface of the virtual human body and information on temperature distribution on the three-dimensional curved surface.

The touching information transmitting unit 30 includes a user side information acquiring unit 31, a virtual human body reproduction unit 32, and a touching information output unit 33.

The hand-side information acquisition unit 31 acquires hand-side information from the touching hand-side device 70 . The applicator side information acquisition unit 31 acquires information on the position, pressure, and temperature on the three-dimensional curved surface as the applicator side information. Here, the position on the three-dimensional curved surface is a position corresponding to the position of the hand or finger of the touching hand wearing the touching hand side device 70.

The virtual human body reproduction unit 32 virtually reproduces the touching of the touching hand on the virtual human body based on the hand side information acquired by the hand side information acquisition unit 31. The virtual human body reproduction unit 32 reproduces touching using pressure and temperature at a position on the body surface of a virtual human body represented by a three-dimensional curved surface. The position on the body surface of the virtual human body is, of course, a position corresponding to the position of the hand and fingers of the touching hand.

The touching information output unit 33 outputs information regarding the touching virtually reproduced on the virtual human body by the virtual human body reproduction unit 32 to the touch receiving device 60 as touching information. Specifically, the touching information output unit 33 outputs the pressure and temperature at a position on the body surface of the virtual human body as the touching information.

[Hardware configuration]
Next, with reference to FIG. 2, the hardware configuration of the remote touching support device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the remote touching support device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The remote touching support device 10 is configured by a computer. For example, the remote touching support device 10 is configured by a personal computer. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the remote touching support device 10 may be configured by, for example, a server computer.

As shown in FIG. 2, the remote touching support device 10 includes a hardware processor 41, a program storage section 42, a data storage section 43, a communication interface 44, and an input/output interface 45. The hardware processor 41, program storage section 42, data storage section 43, communication interface 44, and input/output interface 45 are connected to each other via a bus 46, and can exchange information between them.

The hardware processor 41 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The hardware processor 41 executes programs, performs data arithmetic processing, and the like. The hardware processor 41 controls a program storage section 42 , a data storage section 43 , a communication interface 44 , and an input/output interface 45 .

The program storage unit 42 is a non-temporary tangible storage medium, such as a non-volatile memory that can be written to and read from at any time such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive), and a ROM (Read Only Memory). ) and other non-volatile memories. The program storage unit 42 stores programs executed by the hardware processor 41 in order for the remote touching support device 10 to execute each process.

The data storage unit 43 is configured as a tangible storage medium, for example, by combining the above-mentioned nonvolatile memory and volatile memory such as RAM (Random Access Memory). The data storage unit 43 temporarily stores data necessary for processing executed by the hardware processor 41.

The communication interface 44 is an interface for connecting to a network, in other words, for connecting to other devices etc. via the network. The communication interface 44 enables transmission and reception of information between the hardware processor 41 and the like and a network or other devices connected via the network.

The input/output interface 45 is an interface for connecting external equipment. The input/output interface 45 allows information to be transmitted and received between an external device connected thereto and the hardware processor 41 and the like.

In such a hardware configuration, each part of the remote touching support device 10, that is, the human body information transmitting section 20 (the receiver side information acquisition section 21, the virtual human body generating section 22, and the human body information output section 23) and the touching information transmitting section 30 (the user The functions of the side information acquisition unit 31, virtual human body reproduction unit 32, and touching information output unit 33) are such that the hardware processor 41 works with the data storage unit 43 to read and execute a program stored in the program storage unit 42. It can be implemented by

Some or all of the parts of the remote touching support device 10 may be configured in various other formats, including an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or an integrated circuit such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). may be done.

The touching receiving device 60 and the touching receiving device 70 are connected to the communication interface 44 or the input/output interface 45. For example, when the remote touching support device 10 is configured by a personal computer on the touch receiving side, the touching receiving side device 60 is connected to the input/output interface 45, and the touching side device 70 is connected to the communication interface 44 via the network. be done. On the other hand, when the remote touching support device 10 is configured by a personal computer on the touching side, the touching receiving side device 60 is connected to the communication interface 44 via the network, and the touching side device 70 is connected to the input/output interface 45. connected to. Further, when the remote touching support device 10 is configured by a server computer, both the touch receiving side device 60 and the touching side device 70 are connected to the communication interface 44 via a network.

[Operation example]
Hereinafter, an example of the operation of the remote touching support device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. As a premise, the touch receiver side device 60 transmits receiver side information, that is, information on the three-dimensional position of each part of the touch receiver and information on body temperature. The touching hand side device 70 receives human body information and operates according to the human body information. In other words, the touching device 70 simulates the feeling of being touched by the touching recipient. The touching hand side device 70 also transmits hand side information, that is, information such as the motion and temperature of the hand and fingers of the touching hand. The touching receiving device 60 receives the touching information and operates according to the touching information. In other words, the touching receiving device 60 simulates the touching of the touching user.

(Processing of human body information transmission unit 20)
First, with reference to FIG. 3, the processing executed by the human body information transmission section 20 of the remote touching support device 10 will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the processing executed by the human body information transmission section 20.

First, in step S<b>11 , the recipient side information acquisition unit 21 acquires recipient side information from the touching recipient side device 60 .

Next, in step S12, the virtual human body generation unit 22 generates a virtual human body that virtually represents the touching recipient based on the recipient side information acquired by the recipient side information acquisition unit 21.

The virtual human body is expressed, for example, by a three-dimensional curved surface representing the body surface of the touch recipient and the body temperature distribution on the touch recipient's body surface. Therefore, the virtual human body generation unit 22 calculates a three-dimensional curved surface representing the body surface of the touch recipient based on the three-dimensional position information of the plurality of locations, and also calculates the three-dimensional curved surface representing the body surface of the touch receiver based on the body temperature information of the plurality of locations. Calculate the body temperature distribution above. The virtual human body generation unit 22 generates a virtual human body based on the calculated three-dimensional curved surface and body temperature distribution.

Subsequently, in step S13, the human body information output unit 23 outputs the information regarding the virtual human body generated by the virtual human body generation unit 22 to the touching device 70 as human body information.

The human body information transmitting unit 20 repeatedly executes the processes of steps S11 to S13 described above.

(Processing of touching information transmission unit 30)
Next, with reference to FIG. 4, the processing executed by the touching information transmission section 30 will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing executed by the touching information transmission section 30.

First, in step S21, the user-side information acquisition unit 31 acquires user-side information from the touching user-side device 70.

Next, in step S22, the virtual human body reproduction section 32 virtually reproduces the touching of the touching hand on the virtual human body based on the hand side information acquired by the hand side information acquisition section 31.

The touching of the touching person is expressed by the pressure applied to the position on the three-dimensional curved surface representing the body surface of the touching recipient and the temperature at that position. The virtual human body reproduction unit 32 generates a virtual human body based on the pressure applied to the position on the three-dimensional curved surface, and the temperature and body temperature distribution at the position.
Subsequently, in step S23, the touching information output unit 33 outputs information regarding the touching virtually reproduced on the virtual human body by the virtual human body reproduction unit 32 to the touch receiving device 60 as touching information.

The touching information transmission unit 30 repeatedly executes the processes of steps S21 to S23 described above.

[Remote touching operation concept]
Next, referring to FIG. 5, remote touching performed using the remote touching support device 10 will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing remote touching performed using the remote touching support device 10.

The touch receiver side device 60 worn by the touch receiver transmits receiver side information, that is, information on the three-dimensional position of each part of the touch receiver and information on body temperature. The remote touching support device 10 generates a virtual human body representing a touching recipient by mapping the recipient side information, and transmits the human body information of the virtual human body to the touching side device 70.

The touching hand side device 70 pseudo-expresses the feeling of being touched by the touching recipient based on the human body information. The touching hand wearing the touching hand side device 70 on the hand can receive the feeling of being touched by the touching recipient in a pseudo manner.

Additionally, the touching person moves his or her hands and fingers to perform touching. The touching hand side device 70 transmits hand side information representing touching to the remote touching support device 10 . The remote touching support device 10 reproduces the touching of the toucher on the virtual human body based on the information on the user's side. The remote touching support device 10 further generates touching information representing the touch reproduced on the virtual human body, and outputs the touching information to the touch receiving device 60.

By operating according to the touching information, the touching recipient side device 60 reproduces the touching performed by the touching person wearing the touching person side device 70 on the touching recipient.

[effect]
As described above, the remote touching support device 10 acquires recipient side information from the touching recipient side device 60, generates a virtual human body representing the touching recipient, and applies touching to the human body information of the virtual human to the hand side device 70. Output to.

The touching hand side device 70 receives human body information and pseudo-expresses the feeling of being touched by the touching recipient. Thereby, the touching person can receive the feeling of being touched by the touching recipient in a pseudo manner.

Additionally, the remote touching support device 10 acquires hand-side information from the hand-side device 70 that gives touch, reproduces the touching of the hand giving the touch on the virtual human body, and outputs the touching information to the device 60 of the touch-receiver.

The touching receiving device 60 receives the touching information and reproduces the touching of the touching person. Thereby, the touching recipient can experience touching in a simulated manner.

This makes it possible to bidirectionally transmit sensory information such as tactile sensations, force sensations, and thermal sensations without the touching person actually coming into contact with the touching recipient. Furthermore, by transmitting pressure, temperature, etc. over time, it becomes possible to express feelings of care through tactile communication.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be variously modified at the implementation stage without departing from the gist thereof. Moreover, each embodiment may be implemented in combination as appropriate, and in that case, the combined effect can be obtained. Furthermore, the embodiments described above include various inventions, and various inventions can be extracted by combinations selected from the plurality of constituent features disclosed. For example, if a problem can be solved and an effect can be obtained even if some constituent features are deleted from all the constituent features shown in the embodiment, the configuration from which these constituent features are deleted can be extracted as an invention.

10...Remote touching support device 20...Human body information transmission unit 21...Recipient side information acquisition unit 22...Virtual human body generation unit 23...Human body information output unit 30...Touching information transmission unit 31...Giver side information acquisition unit 32...Virtual human body reproduction Part 33... Touching information output unit 41... Hardware processor 42... Program storage unit 43... Data storage unit 44... Communication interface 45... Input/output interface 46... Bus 60... Touching receiving side device 70... Touching receiving side device

Claims (8)

Obtaining receiver side information regarding the touching receiver from a touching receiver side device worn by the touching receiver, generating human body information of the touching receiver, and transmitting the human body information to a touching receiver side device worn by a touching receiver. A human body information transmission unit that outputs,
a touching information transmission unit that acquires hand side information regarding the touching of the touching hand from the touching hand side device, generates touching information of the touching hand, and outputs the touching information to the touching receiving side device; A remote touching support device having and. The human body information transmission unit is
a receiving side information acquisition unit that obtains the receiving side information from the touching receiving side device;
a virtual human body generation unit that generates a virtual human body that virtually represents the touching recipient based on the recipient side information acquired by the recipient side information acquisition unit;
The remote touching support device according to claim 1, further comprising a human body information output unit that outputs information regarding the virtual human body generated by the virtual human body generation unit as the human body information to the touching device. The touching information transmission section includes:
a administering side information acquisition unit that acquires the administering side information from the touching administering side device;
a virtual human body reproduction unit that virtually reproduces the giving hand's touching on the virtual human body based on the giving hand side information acquired by the giving hand side information acquisition unit;
a touching information output unit that outputs information regarding touching virtually reproduced on the virtual human body by the virtual human body reproduction unit to the touching receiving device as the touching information;
The remote touching support device according to claim 2. The receiver-side information acquisition unit obtains, as the receiver-side information, three-dimensional position information at a plurality of locations and body temperature information at a plurality of locations on the body surface of the touching receiver;
The virtual human body generation unit expresses the virtual human body by a three-dimensional curved surface representing the body surface of the touching recipient and a body temperature distribution on the body surface of the touching recipient,
The human body information output unit outputs, as the human body information, information on a three-dimensional curved surface representing the body surface of the virtual human body and information on temperature distribution on the three-dimensional curved surface.
The remote touching support device according to claim 3. The administering side information acquisition unit acquires information on the position, pressure, and temperature on the three-dimensional curved surface as the administering side information,
The virtual human body reproduction unit reproduces the touching using the pressure and the temperature at the position on the body surface of the virtual human body represented by the three-dimensional curved surface,
The touching information output unit outputs the pressure and the temperature at the position on the body surface of the virtual human body as the touching information.
The remote touching support device according to claim 4. Receiving receiver side information regarding the touching receiver from a touching receiver side device worn by the touching receiver, generating human body information of the touching receiver, and outputting the human body information to a touching receiver side device worn by the touching receiver. to do and
receiving hand side information regarding the touching of the touching hand from the touching hand side device, generating touching information of the touching hand, and outputting the touching information to the touching receiving side device; Remote touching support method. Outputting the human body information to the touching hand side device includes:
acquiring the recipient side information;
generating a virtual human body that virtually represents the touching recipient based on the recipient side information;
The remote touching support method according to claim 6, further comprising: outputting information regarding the virtual human body as the human body information to the touching device. Outputting the touching information to the touching receiving device includes:
Obtaining the information on the donor side;
Virtually reproducing the touching of the administering hand on the virtual human body based on the administering hand side information;
The remote touching support method according to claim 7, further comprising: outputting information regarding touching virtually reproduced on the virtual human body to the touching receiving device as the touching information.

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