Surface properties that can be displayed by a microelectromechanical system-based mechanical tactile display

This study reports the surface properties that a microelectromechanical system (MEMS)-based mechanical tacitle display can present. The display is composed of 3 by 3 large displacement MEMS actuators that comprise hydraulic displacement amplification mechanism and piezoelectric actuators. The control parameters of the display include the displacement, or driving voltage, vibration frequency, and spatial and temporal actuation patterns of the actuators. Roughness and hardness using the newly proposed sample comparison method have been investigated previously. In this study, methods investigating warmness, or thermal conductivity, wettability, or surface energy, and friction were considered. Correlation between the control parameters and the surface properties indicated that the mechanical tactile display is best at controlling the roughness of the surface.