Compliance display using a tilting-plate tactile feedback device

This paper presents a tactile display device for replicating compliance sensation when interacting with deformable and non-deformable compliant objects in a virtual environment. Two small tilting plates approximately reproduce surface deformations of a compliant object. In addition to tactile information, kinesthetic information is rendered through a modified haptic paddle force feedback device. The tilting plates are moved in conjunction with the measured position of the user´s finger as they pressed into the virtual surface. In a psychophysical experiment, we evaluated the effect of adding tilting motion of the device´s actuated plates on the perceived compliance of a virtual surface with a kinesthetic stiffness of 60 N/mm. The experiment results indicate that tilting rates of 5, 10, and 20 deg/cm reduced the perceived stiffness of the surface by 3, 9, and 17 N/m, respectively. The advantages of the new device include its light-weight, low-cost, and simple design. These device features make it practical to integrate this compliance display with user interfaces for applications such as video games or even robotic surgery.