  People learn motor activities best when they are conscious of their errors
and make a concerted effort to correct them. While haptic interfaces can
facilitate motor training, existing interfaces are often bulky and do not
always ensure post-training skill retention. Here, we describe a programmable
haptic sleeve composed of textile-based electroadhesive clutches for skill
acquisition and retention. We show its functionality in a motor learning study
where users control a drone's movement using elbow joint rotation. Haptic
feedback is used to restrain elbow motion and make users aware of their errors.
This helps users consciously learn to avoid errors from occurring. While all
subjects exhibited similar performance during the baseline phase of motor
learning, those subjects who received haptic feedback from the haptic sleeve
committed 23.5% fewer errors than subjects in the control group during the
evaluation phase. The results show that the sleeve helps users retain and
transfer motor skills better than visual feedback alone. This work shows the
potential for fabric-based haptic interfaces as a training aid for motor tasks
in the fields of rehabilitation and teleoperation.
