Highly pixelated, untethered tactile interfaces for an ultra-flexible on-skin telehaptic system

Abstract Realizing highly immersive tactile interactions requires a skin-integrated, untethered, high-definition tactile transducer devices that can record and generate tactile stimuli. However, the rigid and bulky form factor, and insufficient resolution of existing actuators are hindering the reproduction of sophisticated tactile sensations and immersive user experiences. Here, we demonstrate an ultra-flexible tactile interface with high spatial resolution of 1.8 mm for telehaptic communication on human skin. Dual mechanism sensors and sub-mm scale piezoceramic actuators are designed to record and generate the static and dynamic pressures in a wide frequency range (1 Hz to 1 kHz). Moreover, actuators are integrated on ultra-flexible substrate with chessboard pattern to minimize stress during mechanical deformations. Finally, remote transmissions of various tactile stimuli, such as shapes, textures, and vibration patterns were demonstrated by the telehaptic system with low latency (<1.55 ms) and high fidelity as proven by the short-time Fourier-transform analysis.