T-mobile: Vibrotactile display pad with spatial and directional information for hand-held device

In this paper, we have applied phantom sensation and sensory saltation to generate spatial and directional information using a vibrotactile display pad providing vibrotactile cues, T-mobile. A grooved and slim design is applied to the contact side of the T-mobile for comfortable gripping, and the contact part consists of 12 vibrotactile panels which can operate independently and separately. To maintain isolation among vibrotactile actuators, the surface of the cover is divided into several pieces. Each vibrating module consists of a linear resonant vibrational motor, a section of covering surface, and a vibration isolator. As an evaluation of the developed device, two experiments were conducted to test whether directional information and spatial information can be successfully displayed by the device. As a result, spatial and directional information is useful for displaying intuitive information for hand-held navigation with vibrotactile feedback.