Tactile Rendering: a Vibrotactile Approach

While moving a fingertip over a fine surface we experience a sensation that gives us an idea of the surfaces properties. A satisfactory simulation of this feeling is still an unsolved problem. In this paper we describe a rendering strategy based on vibrations which play an important role in the tactile exploration of fine surfaces. To produce appropriate excitation patterns we use an array of vibrating contactor pins. Similar to the colour model in computer graphics we simulate arbitrary vibrations as a superposition of only two sinewaves. Each sinewave is intended for the excitation of a specific population of mechanoreceptors. We carried out first tests of our rendering strategy on Brownian surfaces of different fractal dimension.