Surface haptics: Virtual touch on physical surfaces

Summary form only given. The touch screen is the preeminent human-computer interface of our times. With the benefit of market pull, touch input technologies (e.g., projected capacitance and multi-touch) are rapidly advancing. But what about touch output? In this talk, I´ll discuss “surface haptics”: programmable haptic interaction for physical surfaces such as touch screens and touch pads. Four main approaches - vibration, shape, electrotactile, and shear force - will be reviewed, but emphasis will be given to shear force because it is uniquely suited to bilateral (e.g., force feedback) interaction. I´ll explain how shear force can be controlled by manipulating friction. Specific approaches to controlling coefficient of friction (μ), normal force (N), and relative velocity (Δv), will be reviewed, and I´ll describe a variety of devices - the TPaD, ShiverPaD, SwirlPaD, and ActivePaD - that have been developed in our lab to exploit these effects. I´ll share some recent experimental results, and close with some speculation on the future of surface haptics.