Tactile displays driven by projected light

Abstract

Tactile displays that lend tangible form to digital content could transform computing interactions. However, achieving the resolution, speed, and dynamic range needed for perceptual fidelity remains challenging. We present a dynamic tactile display that directly converts projected light into visible and tactile patterns via a photomechanical surface populated with millimeter-scale optotactile pixels. The pixels transduce incident light into mechanical displacements through photostimulated thermal gas expansion, yielding millimeter-scale displacements with response times of 2 to 100 milliseconds. The use of projected light for power transmission and addressing renders these displays highly scalable. We demonstrate optically driven displays with up to 1511 addressable pixels, several times more pixels than prior tactile displays attaining comparable performance. Perceptual studies confirm that these displays can reproduce diverse spatiotemporal tactile patterns with high fidelity. This research establishes a foundation for practical and versatile high-resolution tactile displays driven by light.