Compact, Scalable, High-resolution, Mems-enabled Tactile Displays

The design, fabrication, and test of a new type of tactile display for the blind is reported. An array of piezoelectric extensional actuators vibrates in plane, and microfabricated scissor mechanisms convert the in-plane actuations into robust, higher-amplitude, out-of-plane vibrations. Information can be conveyed by varying the vibration patterns in space and time. Analytical and FEM models were used to design individual tactile elements, which were implemented with PZT actuators and both SU-8 and 3D-printed scissor amplifiers. The measured displacements of 3 mm x 10 mm tactile elements exceed 10 μm, in agreement with models, with measured forces exceeding 45 mN. The creation of a 28-element prototype is also reported.