Designing actuators for haptic displays
Dr. Juan Jose Zárate
LMTS, EPFL
Neuchâtel, Switzerland
juan.zarate@epfl.ch

Abstract: 
"Portable and rapidly refreshed haptic displays would enable visually
impaired users to use their sense of touch to interact with data, collaborate
remotely, navigate easily in new environments. The actuator mechanism of such
kind of displays has of to be engineered to allow a correct skin stimulli
(pin force, displacement, speed and density) combined with low power
consumption, portability and low cost. Recently we developed a portable 12x16
pin haptic display optimized to rapidly display dynamic graphical
information. Each pin changes state (up/down) in under 20 milliseconds,
allowing the entire display of 192 independent actuators to be refreshed in
under 2 seconds. The user uses his sense of fine touch to explore the 7-inch
display. Information can be displayed as a series of static relief images, or
as a static image with moving or vibrating pins. In this presentation, I will
describe the design and optimization process we followed to achieve our
portable electromagnetic haptic display, and the new applications this opens
in wearables and flexible haptics."

Bio:
Juan Jose Zarate is a postdoctoral researcher at the EPFL in Switzerland. He
received a MSc in physics in 2007 and a PhD in physics in 2013, both at
Instituto Balseiro, Argentina. The doctoral research covered the development
of an infrared  bolometer sensor based on MEMS, at the Low Temperature
Physics Laboratory, Centro Atómico Bariloche. In 2014, Juan joined the
Microsystems for Space Technologies Laboratory (LMTS) to developing haptic
displays based on miniaturised electromagnetic actuators. His research
interest includes design and fabrication techniques of sensors and actuators
for haptics and wearables.

Link:
EPFL - High-resolution haptic displays
http://lmts.epfl.ch/haptics

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http://www.hyperbraille.de/?lang=en

BlindPad - Personal assistive device for blind and visually impaired
https://www.blindpad.eu

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http://tangible.media.mit.edu/project/physical-telepresence

Orbit Reader 20
http://www.aph.org/orbit-reader-20

VersaBraille
http://www.assist-tech.co.uk/atimages.htm