Initial Exploration into Electrotactile Tongue Stimulation for Providing Force Feedback for Robot-Assisted Surgery

We report findings from initial exploration into using electrotactile stimulation, on the surgeon's tongue, as a potential lower-latency and less mechanically-complex way to provide force-feedback to the operator of robot-assisted surgery. We conducted a pilot feasibility study wherein participants attempted to teleoperate a robot to grasp and lift chicken eggs without breaking or dropping them. The force measured by the robot's gripper was displayed differently based on the experimental condition: visually only, or visually with electrotactile tongue stimulation. Participants were more successful lifting eggs with tongue stimulation. Data from this preliminary study, along with insights from informal interviews, suggest that tongue stimulation has potential to enhance the efficacy and safety of robot-assisted surgery.