Building a tactile interface to make the skin tangible

Context

In Germany alone, more than 8 million people suffer from chronic skin diseases. Waiting times for university treatment appointments average 6 months, making it difficult to avoid relapses and escalations. Depression and anxiety are therefore frequent side effects for patients. In the HybridVITA project, research is being conducted on a telemedical approach to enable the treatment of dermatology patients through an online service using a smartphone app. For this purpose, a tactile interface is being developed that enables doctors to feel the skin of patients on the basis of images and 3D models without the patients having to be on site. This should relieve both doctors and patients.

Tasks

• You conduct an extensive literature research on different technologies for making the skin surface tangible.
• You select suitable technologies on the basis of your self-created evaluation matrix.
• You develop a concept for making the skin tangible and implement it as a prototype.
• You evaluate the detection limits of the sensor technology using the prototype.

Requirements

• You are studying electrical engineering, mechatronics, mechanical engineering or a related course of study.
• You are committed, motivated and have a careful and conscientious way of working.
• Ideally, you have some experience with hardware.