Finding the Minimum Perceivable Size of a Tactile Element on an Ultrasonic Based Haptic Tablet

Farzan Kalantari (1) , Laurent Grisoni (1) , Frédéric Giraud (2, 1) , Yosra Rekik (1)

1 MINT2 - Méthodes et outils pour l'Interaction à gestes
2 Université de Lille, Sciences et Technologies

Tactile devices with ultrasonic vibrations (based on squeeze film effect) using piezoelectric actuators are one of the existing haptic feedback technologies. In this study we have performed two psychophysical experiments on an ultrasonic haptic tablet, in order to find the minimum size of a tactile element on which all the users are able to perfectly identify different types of textures. Our results show that the spatial resolution of the tactile element on haptic touchscreen actually varies, depending on the number and types of tactile feedback information. A first experiment exhibits three different tactile textures, chosen as being easily recognized by users. We use these textures in a second experiment, and evaluate minimal spatial area on which the chosen set of textures can be recognized. Among other, we find the minimal size depends on the texture nature.

Keywords: Haptic; Tactile device; Friction modulation; Ultrasonic vibrations; Minimum size; Texture rendering

Domains: Computer Science [cs]

Farzan Kalantari, Laurent Grisoni, Frédéric Giraud, Yosra Rekik. Finding the Minimum Perceivable Size of a Tactile Element on an Ultrasonic Based Haptic Tablet. ISS '16, 11th ACM International Conference on Interactive Surfaces and Spaces, Nov 2016, Niagara Falls, ON, Canada. pp.6, ⟨10.1145/2992154.2996785⟩. ⟨hal-01381314⟩