Haptic Hand-Tremor Simulation for Empathic Design: Preliminary Tests

This paper presents a tool designed to simulate the hand-shaking tremor associated with different neurological impairments. The final goal is to induce, on a healthy user, the first-person sensation of being impaired while performing common activities of daily living involving manipulation of objects. This allows the user to get understanding and gain empathy with the disable. The system has been conceived for designers of products that have to be handled and/or manipulated, so as to drive design procedures compliant with disabilities. The tool is based on a desktop haptic interface connected to the wrist of the user. Such a system can apply programmable forces on the forearm and physically simulate hand-tremor with the same amplitude and frequency correlated with different tremor pathologies. A Graphic User Interface (GUI) allows the operator to select a User Model with an associated type of pathology and a degree of severity. In this paper, we report some preliminary tests conducted, in collaboration with Indesit Company S.p.a., a very well known Italian home appliances design group, on kitchen objects and gas-hob controls.