Flexible and Transparent Electrovibration-Based Haptic Display with Low Driving Voltage

Abstract

Electrovibration haptic technology, which provides tactile feedback to users by swiping the surface with a finger via electroadhesion, shows promise as a haptic feedback platform for displays owing to its simple structure, ease of integration with existing displays, and simple driving mechanism. However, without electrical grounding on a user's body, the frequent requirement of a high driving voltage near 50 V limits the use of electrovibration haptic technology in practical display applications. This study introduces materials and fabrication strategies that considerably reduce the driving voltage. We used a transparent poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) thin film deposited on transparent conductive polymers through a simple spin-coating process, thereby enabling easy integration with existing display technologies. The high dielectric constant characteristics of PVDF enabled the production of tactile cues at low voltages (approximately 15 V), which are within the safety limits of common electronics. We verified the feasibility of our electrovibration haptic feedback system on the basis of the absolute threshold voltage through two-alternative forced choice psychological tests. The results revealed that the PVDF dielectric layer exhibited a relatively lower absolute threshold than commonly used polymer films, which possess a relatively lower dielectric constant. To validate the tactile attributes, a Likert five-point scale survey was conducted, considering flat, concave, and convex curvatures. The results indicated that our haptic device can render diverse surface textures, such as "hairy" and "groovy", on the fingertips through the control of applied pulse width modulated voltage signals.