Electrostatic tactile display with thin film slider and its application to tactile tele-presentation systems

ABSTRACT

A new electrostatic tactile display is proposed to realize compact tactile display devices that can be incorporated with virtual reality systems. The tactile display of this study consists of a thin conductive film slider with stator electrodes that excite electrostatic forces. Users of the device experience tactile texture sensations by moving the slider with their fingers. The display operates by applying two-phase cyclic voltage patterns to the electrodes. This paper reports on the application of the new tactile display in a tactile tele-presentation system. In the system, a PVDF tactile sensor and DSP controller automatically generate voltage patterns to present surface texture sensations through the tactile display. A sensor, in synchronization with finger motion on the tactile display, scans a texture sample and outputs information about the sample surface. The information is processed by a DSP and fed back to the tactile display in real time. The tactile tele-presentation system was evaluated in texture discrimination tests and demonstrated a 79% correct answer ratio. A transparent electrostatic tactile display is also reported in which the tactile display is combined with an LCD to realize a visual-tactile integrated display system.

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Index Terms

• Computing methodologies

  • Computer graphics

    • Graphics systems and interfaces

      • Virtual reality

• Human-centered computing

  • Human computer interaction (HCI)

    • Interaction devices

      • Haptic devices

      • Touch screens

    • Interaction paradigms

      • Mixed / augmented reality

      • Virtual reality