Thermaltex: A two-modal tactile display for delivering surface texture and thermal information

Abstract

We present a two-modal surface display that can simultaneously display thermal and texture stimuli to the user’s fingers. The texture is generated by electrovibration effect on a flexible film with a high thermal conductivity. The temperature of the film is controlled by Peltier element attached with a water-cooling heatsink. The performance of the prototyped device is evaluated by the temperature response to the step signal and the maximum electrostatic force of the display. The application of the display is demonstrated in a virtual reality environment where users can feel the two modal haptic property of the virtual object.