Object deformation illusion on a tactilely enhanced large tabletop device

Haptic illusions on tactilely enhanced interactive tabletops have rarely been explored to date. We report on a project in which we have tried to take a more planned approach to system design based on recent achievements in the field of pseudo-haptics. We decided on an object deformation scenario that combines simple haptic and tactile stimuli with a modulated visual action feedback. Modulation is performed first, in terms of variations of the control-to-display ratio of the perceived finger position on the tabletop device as soon as the finger is entering the space occupied by a deformable virtual object. We secondly exploited a modulation in the tactile domain when the finger is being attracted by a piece of rubber placed onto the tabletop´s surface. This is meant to convey the sensation of a growing contact region and an increased contact pressure as the virtual object is being deformed. An informal user trial suggests that we are on a good way, but a formal evaluation is still to be done.