Electromagnetic-Actuated High-Resolution Tactile Device With Actuating and Sensing Capabilities

Tactile devices with both actuating and sensing capabilities provide an intuitive way to convey tactile information. It however remains a challenge to compact the actuator and sensor array while avoiding the sensor obstructing the actuator motion. Here, we report an actuating–sensing integrated tactile device with a 3-mm resolution, in which magnetic actuators and piezoresistive sensors are compactly interlaced in a reticular layout with the sensors sandwiched between two membrane brackets. The reticular sandwich structure effectively prevents sensors from interfering with actuators, while shortening the spacing between the actuator and sensor to meet the requirements of both the actuator and the sensor within the compact contact area of a fingertip. When touched, the resistance of the distributed sensors is changed and mapped to the drive current of the accessible actuators. This work principle enables the proposed tactile device to modulate the actuators through touching location and pressure, and to reproduce tactile patterns or vibrations for the user. Experimental results show that the tactile device with tactile display and tactile sensing can be used for tactile communication between users or the user and virtual character.