Electrostatic Tactile Display with Thin Film Slider and Its Application to Tactile Telepresentation Systems

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. The display is incorporated into a tactile telepresentation system to realize explorations of remote surface textures with real-time tactile feedback. In the system, a PVDF tactile sensor and a 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 telepresentation system was evaluated in texture discrimination tests and demonstrated a 79 percent 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.

[1]  A. Yamamoto,et al.  Servo Control of High-Power Electrostatic Linear Motor , 1999 .

[2]  R. Reston,et al.  Robotic tactile sensor array fabricated from a piezoelectric polyvinylidene fluoride film , 1990, IEEE Conference on Aerospace and Electronics.

[3]  Javad Dargahi,et al.  A piezoelectric tactile sensor with three sensing elements for robotic, endoscopic and prosthetic applications , 2000 .

[4]  Hiroyuki Shinoda,et al.  Selectively Stimulating Skin Receptors for Tactile Display , 1998, IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications.

[5]  Jun Rekimoto,et al.  TouchEngine: a tactile display for handheld devices , 2002, CHI Extended Abstracts.

[6]  Hiroo Iwata,et al.  Project FEELEX: adding haptic surface to graphics , 2001, SIGGRAPH.

[7]  Robert D. Howe,et al.  Remote palpation technology , 1995 .

[8]  Robert W. Lindeman,et al.  Empirical studies for effective near-field haptics in virtual environments , 2003, IEEE Virtual Reality, 2003. Proceedings..

[9]  Donald E. Troxel,et al.  An Electrotactile Display , 1970 .

[10]  H. Kajimoto,et al.  Tactile Feeling Display using Functional Electrical Stimulation , 1999 .

[11]  Michitaka Hirose,et al.  HapticGEAR: the development of a wearable force display system for immersive projection displays , 2001, Proceedings IEEE Virtual Reality 2001.

[12]  Susumu Tachi,et al.  Surface Acoustic Wave Tactile Display , 2001, IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications.

[13]  Masahiko Inami,et al.  SmartTouch - augmentation of skin sensation with electrocutaneous display , 2003, 11th Symposium on Haptic Interfaces for Virtual Environment and Teleoperator Systems, 2003. HAPTICS 2003. Proceedings..

[14]  C. L. Van Doren,et al.  Independence of pitch and loudness of an electrocutaneous stimulus for sensory feedback , 1994 .

[15]  D. Beebe,et al.  A microfabricated electrostatic haptic display for persons with visual impairments. , 1998, IEEE transactions on rehabilitation engineering : a publication of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society.

[16]  Masahiko Inami,et al.  Visuo-haptic display using head-mounted projector , 2000, Proceedings IEEE Virtual Reality 2000 (Cat. No.00CB37048).

[17]  Akio Yamamoto,et al.  Electrostatic tactile display with thin film slider and its application to tactile telepresentation systems , 2004, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics.

[18]  T. Higuchi,et al.  Electrostatic tactile display for presenting surface roughness sensation , 2003, IEEE International Conference on Industrial Technology, 2003.

[19]  Takeo Kanade,et al.  WYSIWYF Display: A Visual/Haptic Interface to Virtual Environment , 1999, Presence.

[20]  E MALLINCKRODT,et al.  Perception by the skin of electrically induced vibrations. , 1953, Science.