Localizable Button Click Rendering via Active Lateral Force Feedback

In this article, we have developed a novel button click rendering mechanism based on active lateral force feedback. The effect can be localized because electroadhesion between a finger and a surface can be localized. Psychophysical experiments were conducted to evaluate the quality of a rendered button click, which subjects judged to be acceptable. Both the experiment results and the subjects' comments confirm that this button click rendering mechanism has the ability to generate a range of realistic button click sensations that could match subjects' different preferences. We can, thus, generate a button click on a flat surface without macroscopic motion of the surface in the lateral or normal direction, and can localize this haptic effect to an individual finger.