Journal

Haptically Enabled Handheld Information Display with Distributed Tactile Transducer

Jerome Pasquero, Joseph Luk, Vincent Lévesque, Qi Wang, Vincent Hayward, Karon E. MacLean

IEEE Transactions on Multimedia, 9(4), pp 746-753, 2007.

Abstract

This paper describes the design, construction, and initial evaluation of a handheld information device that supports combined tactile and graphical interaction. The design comprises a liquid crystal graphic display co-located with a miniature, low-power, distributed tactile transducer. This transducer can create electronically-controlled lateral skin deformation patterns which give the sensation of sliding over small shapes. It is integrated within a slider mechanism to control scrolling. It also functions as a detent when pushing on it. Tactile feedback and the combination of visual and tactile feedback in a mobile context enable the development of new functions, such as multimodal navigation within large graphic spaces.