Virtual reality (VR) systems typically provide multiple forms of sensory output, such as a VR headset and headphones, which operate together to create the illusion that a user is immersed in a virtual world. A VR system can also include an input or wearable device, such as a VR glove, that detects position, acceleration, orientation, and other information associated with the user's hand and provides the information as input. The input can then be used to move a corresponding item in the virtual world (e.g., a hand or other appendage belonging to a character in the virtual world) when the glove detects movement of the user's hand in the real world. A VR glove can also be used to facilitate interactions with other objects in the virtual world. For example, the VR system can allow the user to use the glove to manipulate virtual objects by touching them, picking them up, and moving them.
Strain sensors may be included in an input or a wearable device, such as a VR glove, to facilitate virtual manipulation of virtual objects. Strain sensors measure strain resulting from applied deformations based on a change in an electrical characteristic (e.g., a resistance, an inductance, or a capacitance) of electrical elements (such as resistive strain gauges, capacitive sensors, or inductive sensors) formed therein. However, a conventional strain sensor is unable to resolve multiple measures of deformation (stretch or flex) occurring at different portions (segments) along its length through a common electrical interface (e.g., a single pair of terminals for an array of two terminal devices). Multiple strain sensors, if cascaded along their lengths to resolve measures of deformation along portions of the combined length, use multiple independent conductive wires or terminals to obtain signals from the various different cascaded sensors. This additional wiring can make cascaded sensors unwieldy in some devices.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds