A new type of a large-area multi-touch tactile device operated by electrotactile stimulation

A new type of a large-area multi-touch tactile device operated by electrotactile stimulation is proposed. Being able to stimulate as many types of mechanoreceptors as possible, the use of electrical stimulation is widespread. However, the area of a device is usually limited because the more electrodes a device is composed of, the more difficult wires are placed if we want to deliver different signals to different regions of one touch panel simultaneously. To get closer to the possibility of integrating multi-touch tactile devices operated by electrotactile stimulation into smartphones or other flat-panel displays, this paper focuses on developing a large-area electrotactile display device driven by electrotactile stimulation that can fully cover smartphones, which has the advantages of larger touched area and better resolution comparing to traditional ones. It is also capable of delivering different stimulation simultaneously on the same surface. The new type of touch panel with cathodes-surrounding anodes taking responsibility for delivering signals and cathodes playing the role of switches to divide signals.