Designing Tactile Patterns using Programmable Friction

Recent advances on programmable friction technologies make it possible to change the friction perception of an interactive surface such as a touchpad or a touchscreen. However, regardless of the technology used, these effects cannot reproduce the fine grain sensation of physical surfaces. Moreover the effect is applied to the whole surface, so each finger exploring the surface feels the same sensation. Little is known about the impact of these limitations on the perception of patterns rendered on these devices. We present a study which compares the perception of tactile textures with a programmable friction device (squeeze film effect) and with a physical support (printed coated paper cards). We show that despite the limitations of programmable friction, participants interpret textures in a similar way. Differences occur at the limit of the input resolution. Author