Surface haptic interactions with a TPad tablet

Abstract

A TPad Tablet is a tablet computer with a variable friction touchscreen. It can create the perception of force, shape, and texture on a fingertip, enabling unique and novel haptic interactions on a flat touchscreen surface. We have created an affordable and easy to use variable friction device and have made it available through the open-hardware TPad Tablet Project. We present this device as a potential research platform as well as demonstrate two applications: remote touch communication and rapid haptic sketching.