Tactor Factor: A Pneumatic Tactile Display

Abstract

Generating stimuli for the sense of touch that can be refreshed or animated under computer control is significantly more challenging than generating stimuli for the eyes or ears. The computer monitor and speaker act at a distance, whereas display for the sense of touch requires mechanical contact across distributed areas of skin accompanied by forces sufficient to produce localized skin displacements. Powering and packing actuators into a dense array compatible with the skin requires extremely efficient power transmission and conversion. Enter: pneumatics. This project lead to a prototype array of independently addressable actuators capable of producing small lateral movement of skin over a range of frequencies. A pneumatic reservoir supplies the power while computer-controlled valves and microchannels, as well as a compliant mechanism gates and transmits power to the skin.