Development of a Fully Flexible Sheet-Type Tactile Display Based on Electrovibration Stimulus

Abstract

Tactile displays have been extensively studied for several decades. However, owing to their bulkiness and stiffness, it has been difficult to integrate these displays with information devices to enable tactile communication between the devices and their users. This paper proposes a novel sheet-type electrovibration tactile display that consists of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate conductive layers and an insulation layer of polydimethylsiloxane. The tactile display is sufficiently thin and flexible for attaching onto various surfaces. In this study, the tactile display was micro-fabricated and characterized through experiments. The experimental results indicated that the tactile display exhibited good durability under bending and that it could present various tactile sensations depending on the type of voltage waveform. In addition, the effect of using a combination of electrovibration and thermal stimuli was also demonstrated. The sheet-type display was attached onto a Peltier element; the thinness of the structure enabled the display to conform to the element and ensure good heat transfer. In the experiment, subjects were asked to scan the display with their fingertips. The results showed that multiple tactile stimuli were also successfully perceived by the subjects.

Emerging Material Technologies for Haptics

“…An electrostatic force is generated in between rubbing finger and insulator while applying a high voltage to the electrode. D,E) Reproduced under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0 . Copyright 2018, the authors.…”

“…B) Photograph of the flexible tactile display using thin PEDOT/PSS and PDMS layers, and C) photograph showing the flexibility of the device. B,C) Reproduced with permission . Copyright 2018, the authors, published MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.…”

“…A recent example of a flexible tactile display based on electrovibration was reported by Ishizuka et al The authors used a thin layer of PEDOT/PSS as a conductor and PDMS as the substrate and as an insulating layer. The device was thin (total 70 µm thick), transparent (Figure B), and flexible (Figure C).…”

Fundamental Perceptual Characterization of an Integrated Tactile Display with Electrovibration and Electrical Stimuli

“…The tactile display was able to provide both vibration and thermal stimulus. We previously developed an integrated tactile display with an electrovibration tactile display and a Peltier element as the application of a flexible tactile display [23]. The problem with the mentioned tactile displays is their bulkiness, due to the use of mechanical actuators in such displays.…”

Integration of a 2D Touch Sensor with an Electroluminescent Display by Using a Screen-Printing Technology on Textile Substrate

“…In this sense, there exist solutions based on haptic feedback by vibrating the touchpad surface [ 1 ]. This type of solution has been applied in the automotive industry to assess its effectiveness in real driving situations [ 2 ]. On the other hand, the use of tiny sounds used as feedback has also been studied to inform the user that the action has been recognized in combination with or without vibration systems [ 3 , 4 ].…”