Abstract
In order to instruct learners how to move their body elements, visual information is used in general situations but it is difficult to instruct them in timings and speeds, especially, those for multiple-muscle -cooperative movements. Therefore, we have been studied wearable haptic interfaces, making use of proprioceptive sensations. The interface being developed by us is characterized by featuring a novel instruction scheme that just-noticeable small external forces are enough to trigger learners to actively move their muscles, and are more effective to learn expected motions than ordinary exoskeleton powered suits that exert great powers by which person body elements are moved passively. As a basic study for the instruction scheme, we have studied on absolute-angle perceptual characteristics with the wrist flexion/extension, based on a mechanical haptic wrist interface: absolute errors and JNDs for each of active and passive extension-flexion motion were obtained by psychophysical experiments.
