TEDYouth 2012
Katherine Kuchenbecker: The technology of touch
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As we move through the world, we have an innate sense of how things feel -- the sensations they produce on our skin and how our bodies orient to them. Can technology leverage this? In this fun, fascinating TED-Ed lesson, learn about the field of haptics, and how it could change everything from the way we shop online to how dentists learn the telltale feel of a cavity.
Katherine Kuchenbecker - Mechanical engineer
Katherine Kuchenbecker works on incorporating the sense of touch directly into virtual objects. Imagine being able to feel textures on your digital screens. Full bio
Katherine Kuchenbecker works on incorporating the sense of touch directly into virtual objects. Imagine being able to feel textures on your digital screens. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
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I'm a mechanical engineering professor
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at the University of Pennsylvania,
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and my favorite hobby is photography.
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And as I travel around the world,
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I love taking photographs like these,
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so I can remember all
the beautiful and interesting things
the beautiful and interesting things
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that I've seen.
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But what I can't do is record and share
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how these objects feel to touch.
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And that's kind of surprising,
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because your sense of touch
is really important.
is really important.
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It's involved in every physical
interaction you do every day,
interaction you do every day,
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every manipulation task,
anything you do in the world.
anything you do in the world.
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So the sense of touch
is actually pretty interesting.
is actually pretty interesting.
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It has two main components.
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The first is tactile sensations,
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things you feel in your skin.
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And the second is kinesthetic sensations.
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This has to do with the position
of your body and how it's moving,
of your body and how it's moving,
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and the forces you encounter.
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And you're really good at incorporating
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both of these types of sensations together
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to understand the physical interactions
you have with the world
you have with the world
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and understand as you touch a surface:
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is it a rock, is it a cat,
is it a bunny, what is it?
is it a bunny, what is it?
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And so, as an engineer,
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I'm really fascinated
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and I have a lot of respect
for how good people are with their hands.
for how good people are with their hands.
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And I'm intrigued and curious
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about whether we could
make technology better
make technology better
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by doing a better job at leveraging
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the human capability
with the sense of touch.
with the sense of touch.
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Could I improve the interfaces
to computers and machines
to computers and machines
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by letting you take
advantage of your hands?
advantage of your hands?
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And indeed, I think we can,
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and that's at the core
of a field called haptics,
of a field called haptics,
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and this is the area that I work in.
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It's all about interactive
touch technology.
touch technology.
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And the way it works is,
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as you move your body through the world,
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if, as an engineer, I can make a system
that can measure that motion,
that can measure that motion,
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and then present to you
sensations over time
sensations over time
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that kind of make sense,
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that match up with what you might feel
in the real world,
in the real world,
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I can fool you into thinking
you're touching something
you're touching something
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even though there's nothing there.
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So here are three examples
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and these are all done
from research in my lab at Penn.
from research in my lab at Penn.
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The first one is all about that same
problem that I was showing you:
problem that I was showing you:
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how can we capture how objects feel
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and recreate those experiences?
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So the way we solve this problem
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is by creating a hand-held tool
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that has many different sensors inside.
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It has a force sensor, so we can tell
how hard you're pushing;
how hard you're pushing;
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it has motion tracking, so we can tell
exactly where you've moved it;
exactly where you've moved it;
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and it has a vibration sensor,
an accelerometer, inside,
an accelerometer, inside,
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that detects the shaking
back and forth of the tool
back and forth of the tool
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that lets you know
that's a piece of canvas
that's a piece of canvas
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and not a piece of silk or something else.
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Then we take the data we record
from these interactions.
from these interactions.
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Here's ten seconds of data.
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You can see how the vibrations
get larger and smaller,
get larger and smaller,
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depending on how you move.
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And we make a mathematical
model of those relationships
model of those relationships
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and program them into a tablet computer
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so that when you take the stylus
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and go and touch the screen,
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that voice-coil actuator
in the white bracket
in the white bracket
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plays vibrations to give you the illusion
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that you're touching the real surface,
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just like if you touched, dragged
back and forth, on the real canvas.
back and forth, on the real canvas.
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We can create very compelling illusions.
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We can do this for all kinds of surfaces
and it's really a lot of fun.
and it's really a lot of fun.
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We call it haptography --
haptic photography.
haptic photography.
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And I think it has potential
benefits in all sorts of areas
benefits in all sorts of areas
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like online shopping,
maybe interactive museum exhibits,
maybe interactive museum exhibits,
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where you're not supposed
to touch the precious artifacts,
to touch the precious artifacts,
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but you always want to.
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The second example I want to tell you
about comes from a collaboration I have
about comes from a collaboration I have
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with Dr. Margrit Maggio
at the Penn Dental School.
at the Penn Dental School.
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Part of her job is to teach
dental students
dental students
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how to tell where in a patient's mouth
there are cavities.
there are cavities.
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Of course they look at X-rays,
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but a large part of this clinical judgment
comes from what they feel
comes from what they feel
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when they touch your teeth
with a dental explorer.
with a dental explorer.
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You've all had this happen,
they go across.
they go across.
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What they're feeling for is if the tooth
is really hard, then it's healthy,
is really hard, then it's healthy,
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but if it's kind of soft and sticky,
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that's a signal that the enamel
is starting to decay.
is starting to decay.
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These types of judgments are hard
for a new dental student to make,
for a new dental student to make,
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because they haven't touched
a lot of teeth yet.
a lot of teeth yet.
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And you want them to learn this
before they start practicing
before they start practicing
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on real human patients.
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So what we do is add an accelerometer
on to the dental explorer,
on to the dental explorer,
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and then we record what Dr. Maggio feels
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as she touches different extracted teeth.
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And we can play it back for you as a video
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with a touch track --
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not just a sound track,
but also a touch track,
but also a touch track,
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that you can feel by holding
that repeating tool.
that repeating tool.
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You feel the same things the dentist
felt when they did the recording,
felt when they did the recording,
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and practice making judgments.
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So here's a sample one.
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Here's a tooth that looks
kind of suspicious, right?
kind of suspicious, right?
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It has all those brown stains.
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You might be thinking, "We should
definitely put a filling in this tooth."
definitely put a filling in this tooth."
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But if you pay attention to how it feels,
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all the surfaces of this tooth
are hard and healthy,
are hard and healthy,
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so this patient does not need a filling.
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And these are exactly the kind
of judgments doctors make every day
of judgments doctors make every day
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and I think this technology
we've invented has a lot of potential
we've invented has a lot of potential
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for many different things in medical
training, because it's really simple
training, because it's really simple
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and it does a great job at recreating
what people feel through tools.
what people feel through tools.
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I think it could also help make games
more interactive and fun
more interactive and fun
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and more realistic
in the sensations that you feel.
in the sensations that you feel.
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The last example I want to tell you about
is again about human movement.
is again about human movement.
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So if any of you have ever learned sports,
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how do you get good
at something like surfing?
at something like surfing?
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You practice.
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You practice some more and more, right?
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Making small corrections,
maybe getting some input from a coach,
maybe getting some input from a coach,
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learning how to improve your motions.
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I think we could use computers
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to help make that process
more efficient and more fun.
more efficient and more fun.
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And so here, for example,
if I have six different arm movements
if I have six different arm movements
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that I want you to learn,
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you come into my lab at Penn
and try out our system.
and try out our system.
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We use a Kinect to measure your motions,
we show graphics on the screen,
we show graphics on the screen,
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and then we also give you touch cues,
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haptic feedback on your arm,
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delivered by these haptic arm bands
which have motors inside,
which have motors inside,
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and guide you as you move.
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So, if we put it together,
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as you're trying to track this motion,
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if you deviate -- say, maybe,
your arm is a little too high --
your arm is a little too high --
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we turn on the motors
right there on the skin
right there on the skin
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to let you know you should move down,
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almost like a coach gently guiding you
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and helping you master
these movements more quickly
these movements more quickly
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and make more precise corrections.
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We developed this system
for use in stroke rehabilitation,
for use in stroke rehabilitation,
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but I think there are a lot
of applications,
of applications,
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like maybe dance training
or all sorts of sports training as well.
or all sorts of sports training as well.
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So now you know a little bit
about the field of haptics,
about the field of haptics,
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which I think you'll hear more
about in the coming years.
about in the coming years.
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I've shown you three examples.
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I just want to take a moment
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to acknowledge the great students
who work with me in my lab at Penn
who work with me in my lab at Penn
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and my collaborators.
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They're a great group.
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I also want to thank you
for your kind attention.
for your kind attention.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Katherine Kuchenbecker - Mechanical engineerKatherine Kuchenbecker works on incorporating the sense of touch directly into virtual objects. Imagine being able to feel textures on your digital screens.
Why you should listen
Could technology be more touchy feely? Mechanical engineer Katherine Kuchenbecker answers this question with a resounding ‘yes.’ Kuchenbecker researches the design, control and performance of robotic systems that enable a user to touch virtual objects and distant environments as though they were real and within reach. These interfaces combine electromechanical sensors, actuators and computer control, allowing for technology that can fool the human sense of touch, otherwise known as ‘haptics.’
Imagine a tablet computer that lets you feel fabrics and textures, robotic surgical tools that let doctors use their incredibly well-honed sense of touch, video games that allow you to feel hits and computer programs that teach you the movements of a sport. By researching these areas -- as well as applications in stroke rehabilitation and assistance for the blind -- Kuchenbecker seeks to improve our understanding of touch and uncover new opportunities to use it in interactions between humans, computers and machines.
An assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Kuchenbecker has been named to the Popular Science Brilliant 10. She is also an avid photographer, and played volleyball at Stanford for two seasons.
Katherine Kuchenbecker | Speaker | TED.com