The Cutaneous Sensory Lab in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT is focused on developing tactile, haptic and thermal displays that can be used in a variety of applications.
We adopt a systems-level approach to developing and implementing these displays in which we (1) characterize the actuators (mechanical or thermal) used in the display, (2) measure their performance when mounted on the skin, (3) analyze the skin’s properties and how these vary at different locations on the body and across individuals, and (4) conduct a variety of psychophysical studies to determine how users perceive these diverse forms of stimulation. We also study how these displays can be used in different application domains.
Lynette Jones is a Senior Research Scientist in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT. She has contributed extensively to the area of haptics, tactile and thermal displays, and sensorimotor control of the hand.
Her research group at MIT has built a number of tactile and thermal displays that have been used in research conducted by both academic and industrial organizations.
Dr. Jones has served on numerous national committees, including the Committee on Space Biology and Medicine of the National Research Council. She was the Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Haptics from 2014-2019, and is currently an Associate Editor of Presence: Virtual and Augmented Reality. She is a Fellow of the IEEE.
Reed, C.R., Tan, H.Z., & Jones, L.A. (2023). "Haptic communication of language." IEEE Transactions on Haptics, in press.
Jones, L.A. & Ho, H-N. (2022). "Incorporating thermal feedback in cutaneous displays: Reconciling temporal and spatial disparities." 11th International Workshop on Haptic and Audio Interaction Design, 48-58.
Simonelli, C., Musolino, A., Rizzo, R., & Jones, L.A. (2021). "Development of an innovative magnetorheological fluids-based haptic device excited by permanent magnets." IEEE World Haptics Conference, 61-66.
Jones, L.A. & Singhal, A. (2019). "Sensory interactions in cutaneous displays." IEEE World Haptics Conference, 545-550.
Dr. Lynette Jones gave the keynote talk on "Time and Space and the Thermal Senses" at the Tactile Research Group Annual Meeting
Dr. Lynette Jones was awarded the Distinguished Service Award by the IEEE Technical Committee on Haptics in recognition of efforts to develop a publishing mechanism between the IEEE Transactions on Haptics, the Haptics Symposium, and the World Haptics Conference
Haptics, by Dr. Lynette Jones has been published by MIT Press
Lynette Jones was elected an IEEE Fellow for her contributions to tactile and thermal displays
"Perceptual Interactions in Thermo-tactile Displays" presented in IEEE World Haptics 2017 in Germany
