Linear actuator for high-resolution tactile display

Abstract

Braille displays have been used for a while to present symbolic information to blind persons' fingertips. However, these displays could not convey schematic information such as figures. For the presentation of schematic information, we need to develop a tactile display that consists of a pin array of higher resolution. To attain higher resolution we propose a novel actuation mechanism using metal with a low melting point. The low melting point metal is used to fix each pin; usually, the pin is clutched because the metal is solid, once a heater melts the metal, the pin is released and pushed up or down using compressed air. We implemented prototype display devices that have 10/spl times/10 pin array, with a pin interval of 2 mm and a pin diameter of 0.5 mm, actuated by the proposed mechanism, to evaluate the characteristics of the devices.