Tacsac: A Wearable Haptic Device with Capacitive Touch-Sensing Capability for Tactile Display

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Wearable Technology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Deafblind individuals face significant communication barriers.
• Existing assistive technologies often lack integrated sensing and feedback capabilities.
• The need for intuitive, two-way communication tools for the deafblind population is critical.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a dual-function wearable device (Tacsac) for communication among deafblind people.
• To integrate capacitive tactile sensing and vibrotactile feedback into a single, compact device.
• To enhance localized haptic feedback and touch-sensing for improved user interaction.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a vibrotactile module using a flexible electromagnetic actuator (flexible coil, permanent magnet, PDMS).
• Development of a touch-sensing module utilizing a planar capacitive metal-insulator-metal (MIM) structure.
• Integration of both modules into a single wearable device and testing in independent and dual modes.

Main Results:

• The Tacsac device demonstrated synchronous vibration response to stimuli across a wide frequency range (10 Hz to 200 Hz).
• The actuator exhibited a resonance frequency of 60-70 Hz with a maximum displacement of 0.377 mm at 180 mA.
• The capacitive touch-sensitive layer performed with minimal noise, functional during both actuator ON and OFF states.

Conclusions:

• Tacsac successfully integrates tactile sensing and vibrotactile feedback for effective communication.
• The device provides efficient two-way communication between deafblind users and mobile devices.
• This technology advances tactile displays, offering a novel solution for deafblind communication.