SleeveIO is a modular and reconfigurable hardware platform for rapid prototyping of multimodal wearable haptic feedback interactions. SleeveIO features engineered machine-knitted sleeve and band substrates, and five categories of haptic feedback actuator modules including vibrotactors, bellows, muscles, suction/puffing cups, and quad-chamber actuators. A universal magnetic attachment mechanism unifies the different types of actuators, enabling countless multimodal haptic experiences involving combinations of different actuator types in different configurations. SleeveIO is compatible with a variety of hardware/software control platforms, such as FlowIO [42], which enables individual control of each haptic actuator and makes the system battery-powered and untethered. This paper presents the SleeveIO platform in detail along with replication resources, a novel generalized approach to making different types of haptic actuators modular and interoperable, new application possibilities enabled by SleeveIO, and a pilot assessment of the viability of the platform as a whole and each module individually.

Fiber – a primitive yet ubiquitous form of material – intertwines with our bodies and surroundings, from constructing our fibrous muscles that enable our movement, to forming fabrics that intimately interface with our skin. In soft robotics and advanced materials science research, actuated fibers are gaining interest as thin, flexible materials that can morph in response to external stimuli. In this paper, we build on fluidic artificial muscles research to develop OmniFiber - a soft, line-based material system for designing movement-based interactions. We devised actuated thin (øouter < 1.8 mm) fluidic fibers with integrated soft sensors that exhibit perceivably strong forces, up to 19 N at 0.5 MPa, and a high speed of linear actuation peaking at 150mm/s. These allow to flexibly weave them into everyday tangible interactions; including on-body haptic devices for embodied learning, synchronized tangible interfaces for remote communication, and robotic crafting for expressivity. The design of such interactive capabilities is supported by OmniFiber’s design space, accessible fabrication pipeline, and a fluidic I/O control system to bring omni-functional fluidic fibers to the HCI toolbox of interactive morphing materials.