A tactile display is programmable device to be detected by human touch. It has great potential applications in the field of virtual environment. The current research is the first step to develop a programmable tactile array based on ER/MR fluid technology. Prototypes of display incorporating controllable fluids such as electrrheological (ER) fluid and magnetorheological (MR) fluid have been developed and investigated. Surface force responses of these tactile displays under various electric/magnetic fields have been measured while a probe moving across the upper surface. As the applied external electric or magnetic field varied, the sensed surface profiles changed in synchronisation with the field strength. With the controllable fluid actuator, the displayed surface information is stable and repeatable.

Date Published: 1 November 2007
PDF: 8 pages
Proc. SPIE 6423, International Conference on Smart Materials and Nanotechnology in Engineering, 642331 (1 November 2007); doi: 10.1117/12.780044

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 6423:
International Conference on Smart Materials and Nanotechnology in Engineering
Shanyi Du; Jinsong Leng; Anand K. Asundi, Editor(s)