Modeling the Human Touch: A FEM Model of the Human Hand Fingertips for Haptic Applications

Performance of tactile sensation, which plays an important role in artificial skin, fingers for Robotics, and wearable haptic device is affected by fingertip deformation characteristics produced when touching objects. In particular, tactile performance of human fingertips is strictly associated with activity of the nerve endings and sensitivity of the soft tissue within the fingertip to the static and dynamic skin indentation. In this study, a Finite Element model, based on the physiological structure of the fingertip, has been developed to simulate the interaction between fingertip and a flat plate while in contact. The fingertip is assumed to be composed of skin layers, comprising both epidermis and dermis, subcutaneous tissue, nail and arterial bone. All of them are threated as nonlinear and inhomogeneous materials. Results show that the soft tissues of fingertips are very sensitive to stimuli; stress and deformations are depending on the characteristic of the touched flat plate. The present study represents an effort to develop a predictive model to be used in the design and optimization process of new cutaneous haptic interfaces.