- Title:
- TeslaTouch: electrovibration for touch surfaces
- Reference Information:
- Olivier Bau, Ivan Poupyrev, Ali Israr, and Chris Harrison. 2010. TeslaTouch: electrovibration for touch surfaces. In <em>Proceedings of the 23nd annual ACM symposium on User interface software and technology</em> (UIST '10). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 283-292. DOI=10.1145/1866029.1866074 http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1866029.1866074
- UIST 2010 New York, New York.
- Author Bios:
- Oliver Bau received his PhD at INRIA Saclay. Bau was conducting PostDoctoral Research for Disney Research until January 2011.
- Ivan Poupyrevis a Senior Research Scientist at Disney Research Pittsburgh. He is interested in developing technologies that integrate the digital and physical world.
- Ali Israr received his PhD from Purdue University in 2007. He primarily researches haptics and works with the Interaction Design group in Disney Research.
- Chris Harrison has the coolest name out of all the authors. He is a 5th year PhD student at Carnegie Mellon University.
- Summary
- Hypothesis:
- The researchers hypothesized that a haptic feedback system can be implemented by utilizing electrovibration to induce electrostatic friction between a surface and the users (moving) finger.
- Methods
- The researchers constructed a prototype which consists of a glass plate on the bottom, transparent electrode layer in the middle topped by a thin insulation layer. A periodic electrical signal applied to the electrode is the driving force behind the electrostatic friction. This signal displaces electrons in the prototype which create varying amounts of attractive forces between the prototype and a finger moving across the prototype. Researchers conducted several user studies to determine threshold levels of human detection as well as the differences felt when using varying frequencies and amplitudes. Finally, the researchers developed several test applications to demonstrate the potential of their device.
- Results
- Results from the studies reveal that frequency is related to the perception of stickiness while amplitude was linked to the sensation of smoothness. Lower frequencies were described as being sticky while higher frequencies felt more waxy. Low amplitudes were more rough than higher amplitudes: "cement surface" versus "painted wall". The demonstration programs developed by the researchers show that the haptic sensation can be 'localized' in the sense that only moving digits feel the effects of the electrostatic friction. Additionally, the strength of the friction can be adjusted based on where the user is touching, leading to various 'surfaces' during an interaction.
- Contents
- The research paper presents TeslaTouch, a new form of haptic feedback that does not require any moving parts. The advantages of lacking mechanical parts range from a uniform sensation across the entire surface to a savings in energy expenditure. This technology can be utilized to provide information such as the 'density' of pixels on the screen or the size of a file being dragged.
- Discussion
- The researchers effectively demonstrated that their idea is feasible by both calculating threshold levels of human detection and developing various demonstration applications. This was one of the most exciting research papers I have read to date, because I feel that this technology can be both useful and entertaining in a real world situation. Artists, for example, will likely welcome the greater physical feedback when drawing on a virtual surface, as it is much more natural. I would like to see a prototype for a mobile device tested in the future, as that (along with tablets) seem to be the most likely places to implement such a system.
Picture Source: "TeslaTouch: electrovibration for touch surfaces"
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