Friction measurement apparatus for touch-feel perception studies

This paper describes an investigation into a new design of friction test apparatus with an artificial fingertip. In order to mimic a human finger stroking on surfaces, this special friction apparatus consists of an artificial fingertip, a linear flexure mechanism and a reciprocal stage. The contact force and friction force are measured simultaneously. The detailed design of major parts will be provided and the calibration of the apparatus will be discussed in the paper. Then experiments were carried out to measure surface frictions of aluminum, steel with different roughness, under different contact forces and different stroking speeds. The friction measurement results demonstrate that the designed artificial finger can be used to represent the real human fingertip for friction tests.