As shown in FIG. 18A, the haptic communication device 1820 receives the actuator signals 1818 and generates and transmits haptic vibrations 1824 to transmit the message to the body 1826 of the user wearing the haptic communication device 1820. The haptic communication device 1820 may include an array of cutaneous actuators 1822 that generates the haptic vibrations 1824. The cutaneous actuators 1822 are communicatively coupled over wired or wireless connections to the broadband signal generator 1816 to generate the haptic vibrations 1824 based on the actuator signals 1818. The haptic communication device 1820 may include one or more processing units (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), a controller, a state machine, one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), one or more radio-frequency integrated circuits (RFICs), or any combination of these) and a memory.
In one embodiment, the cutaneous actuators 1822 may be voice coils that convert an analog AC-coupled signal (the actuator signals 1818) to proportional mechanical motion. The cutaneous actuators 1822 may be arranged on a semi-rigid backing that secures them in position against the body 1826 with enough pressure that the haptic vibrations 1824 can be perceived by the user. In other embodiments, the haptic communication device 1820 may include piezoelectric, electroactive polymer, eccentric rotating mass, and linear resonant actuators. Other embodiments of the haptic communication device 1820 are illustrated and described in detail above with respect to FIGS. 1, 8B, 8E, 9A-9E, 11A, 11I, 12A-12B, 15A and 16A-16L among others.
