Pen-like Haptic Interface and Its Application on Touch Screen

The objective of this research is to propose and design a compact tactile display module and verify its performance in a pen-like haptic interface, particularly on the touch screen. A small, safe, silent and light tactile display module with low power dissipation has been built. Based on this module, we present the Ubi-Pen, a pen-like haptic interface providing texture and vibration stimuli. Preliminary evaluations indicate it can satisfactorily represent tactile patterns. We also evaluate its capacity to support GUI operations by producing a simple click-like feedback when buttons are pressed. In addition, it provides texture sensation when a user rubs an image displayed on a touch screen.