Haptic Interfaces to Scanning Probe Microscopy (ABSTRACT)

Recent advances in the past thirty years have brought nanotechnology into the mainstream, allowing scientists and engineers to develop theory and products at atomic scale. One major breakthrough was the invention of Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM), a technique that allows nanoscopic objects to be viewed at macroscale. However, this technology was primarily developed for the visual senses, neglecting other critical sensory functions responsible for optimal human functioning. The majority of human-computer interface research has focused on visual perception even though several other senses also provide frequently-used feedback [1]. However, many haptic research devices such as the PHANToM (SensAble Technologies) and the Delta Haptic Device (Force Dimension) have been commercialized, leading to increased interest by industrial and academic sectors. The addition of haptic force feedback to traditional ocular SPM approaches was shown to be more intuitive, increase productivity, enable new types of experiments, and allow for finer control of the SPM probe [2, 3, 4]. By modelling the cantilever and surface force feedback variation with an approximate model (e.g. a spring), a nanoscale object can be haptically modelled. Further, Lederman et al. proposed that spatial tasks are best represented visually while properties of materials are best perceived haptically, and SPM-scanned surfaces are often composed of many unique materials [5].