Localizable Button Click Rendering via Active Lateral Force Feedback

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel haptic rendering method using active lateral force feedback via electroadhesion, enabling localized, realistic button click sensations on flat surfaces without macroscopic surface motion.

Contribution

The paper presents a new electroadhesion-based active lateral force feedback technique for localized haptic button clicks, validated through psychophysical experiments.

Findings

Subjects judged the rendered button clicks to be acceptable.

The mechanism can generate a range of realistic sensations.

The effect can be localized to individual fingers.

Abstract

We have developed a novel button click rendering mechanism based on active lateral force feedback. The effect can be localized because electroadhesion between a finger and a surface can be localized. Psychophysical experiments were conducted to evaluate the quality of a rendered button click, which subjects judged to be acceptable. Both the experiment results and the subjects' comments confirm that this button click rendering mechanism has the ability to generate a range of realistic button click sensations that could match subjects' different preferences. We can thus generate a button click on a flat surface without macroscopic motion of the surface in the lateral or normal direction, and we can localize this haptic effect to an individual finger.