Tactile telepresence system using PVDF sensors and electrostatic stimulator

In this paper, a new tactile telepresence system is developed. The new system consists of a multi-channel polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) tactile sensor, a friction-type electrostatic tactile display, and a master-slave control system. The tactile sensor, which is situated in the slave site, is equipped with a contact force control unit to reproduce a finger-object contact condition at the master site. Also, the tactile sensor works with a linear motor stage to reproduce the operator's finger motion while exploring a surface. The finger's exploring motion and contact force are measured by sensor systems embedded in the tactile display at the master site. With these units, the system realizes master-slave surface texture presentation. In past research, the electrostatic tactile display showed good performance in displaying uniform and periodic surface textures, or surface roughness. In this research, it was demonstrated that the electrostatic tactile display is also able to display localized or non-uniform surface textures, such as a bump or a step, by extending its control scheme.