Localized Rendering of Button Click Sensation via Active Lateral Force Feedback

We have developed a novel button click rendering mechanism based on active lateral force feedback. The effect can be localized because electroadhesion between a finger and a surface can be localized. We did psychophysical experiments to evaluate the quality of a rendered button click, which subjects judged to be acceptable. We can thus generate a button click on a flat surface without macroscopic motion of the surface in the lateral or normal direction, and we can localize this haptic effect to an individual finger. This mechanism is promising for touch-typing keyboard rendering (“multi-click”).