Pen type surface acoustic wave tactile display with movable tablet

Recently, pen-tablet interface for PC has been commercialized. Using the device, its user can draw a line on it as well as point icons like a mouse. During such operation, users can feel only smoothness on the top of the pen. They cannot recognize the completion of the operation, because of no tactile sensation feedback. In this research, tactile feedback through the pen is proposed. The operators can feel drawing sensation similar to the feeling when they draw a line with a charcoal on a drawing paper. To realize the feedback, principle of surface acoustic wave (SAW) tactile display was applied. A movable tablet with a SAW transducer was designed and fabricated. With the transducer, tactile feedback can be enjoyed on whole PC screen.