SaLT: Small and lightweight tactile display using ultrasonic actuators

In this paper, multi-fingered tactile display modules are proposed. Each tactile display module is comprised of a 4 times 4 piezoelectric ultrasonic actuator array with a spatial resolution of 1.5 mm and a temporal resolution of 20 Hz. The objective of this research is to build a small and lightweight tactile display system so that the system including the display modules and complete controller parts is wearable by a user. It was found that various types of texture information can be generated using a static indentation or through the vibration of each pin. Three tactile display modules were utilized for interaction with a 3D virtual environment. As the developed tactile display modules consume less power and are connected wirelessly to a host PC, the system is applicable to various types of texture representation systems.