Actuators for touchscreen tactile overlay

This paper evaluates the most promising innovative actuators and transducers, both off-the-self and prototypes in advanced stages of development, utilized to provide haptic feedback for direct touch interaction, with touchscreen mobile devices. Most of commercially available actuators / transducers are specific to the medium of interaction, while the skin contact constraints are often underestimated. Therefore, tactile information delivered to the skin contact can be distorted and incorrect for interpretation. This research tries to identify the reasons behind the loss / decay of signals between the transducer and skin contact, by measuring distortion and integration of vibration signals propagating through the contact medium. The research postulates that the parameters of the haptic signals cannot be referred to specification of the individual components (actuators/transducers) but require of an assessment of a variety of constraints which need to be considered and compensated for to ensure their effective use.