In this paper, we propose and demonstrate a haptic device with liquid-pouch motors that can simulate a handshake. Because handshakes involve contact of the palms or soft skin, handshake simulation requires the haptic device to provide pressure onto specific areas of the palm with soft contact. This can be achieved with thermally driven liquid-pouch motors, which inflate and deflate when a low-boiling-point liquid, here Novec™ 7000, evaporates and condenses, respectively. Due to the simplicity of the soft actuator system, this haptic glove is lightweight and conformable. To design the haptic glove, we experimentally investigated the contact region and strength in handshakes, which led to an optimal number, size and position for the liquid-pouch motors. Sensory experiments with human subjects verified that the designed haptic glove successfully simulated handshakes.

We propose and demonstrate ProtoHand, which is a soft artificial hand that can work as a universal platform for prototyping electrical circuits similar to a breadboard. ProtoHand is made of flexible and transparent polydimethyl siloxane (PDMS). ProtoHand has multiple channels filled with liquid metal beneath the surface, like the blood vessels of a hand. Electric components, such as resistors and capacitors, can be inserted by piercing into ProtoHand, and electrically connected via the conductive liquid metal. Soldering is unnecessary and the parts can be removed without leakage of the liquid metal; therefore, prototyping of electric circuits can be performed on this soft hand in a reusable manner. ProtoHand will help the design of multi-functional robot hands and could also be an excellent educational tool.