Noncontact Haptic Rendering of Static Contact with Convex Surface Using Circular Movement of Ultrasound Focus on a Finger Pad

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that focused ultrasound can noncontactly render static pressure sensations on a finger pad, enabling tactile reproduction of small convex surfaces with high spatial resolution.

Contribution

It introduces a method to produce static contact sensations using ultrasound focus movement, expanding ultrasound haptics capabilities.

Findings

Static pressure sensation was perceived with minimal vibration.

The rendered sensation simulated contact with a 2 mm convex surface.

Perceived pressure was equivalent to 0.24 N, much higher than actual radiation force.

Abstract

A noncontact tactile stimulus can be presented by focusing airborne ultrasound on the human skin. Focused ultrasound has recently been reported to produce not only vibration but also static pressure sensation on the palm by modulating the sound pressure distribution at a low frequency. This finding expands the potential for tactile rendering in ultrasound haptics as static pressure sensation is perceived with a high spatial resolution. In this study, we verified that focused ultrasound can render a static pressure sensation associated with contact with a small convex surface on a finger pad. This static contact rendering enables noncontact tactile reproduction of a fine uneven surface using ultrasound. In the experiments, four ultrasound foci were simultaneously and circularly rotated on a finger pad at 5 Hz. When the orbit radius was 3 mm, vibration and focal movements were barely perceptible, and the stimulus was perceived as static pressure. Moreover, under the condition, the pressure sensation rendered a contact with a small convex surface with a radius of 2 mm. The perceived intensity of the static contact sensation was equivalent to a physical contact force of 0.24 N on average, which was 12 times the radiation force physically applied to the skin.