Remote Friction Reduction on Polystyrene Foam Surface by Focused Airborne Ultrasound

In recent years, various tactile displays having the ability to change their surface friction have been proposed. These displays can express many types of textures and shapes that the materials used for them do not possess. In our study, we found that the ultrasound converged on the surface of polystyrene foam reduces the surface friction. This method has potential applications in disposable and three-dimensional tactile displays. In this study, physical and psychophysical experiments were conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method and to examine the basic conditions under which it is perceived. As a result, we confirmed that the surface friction was reduced on the polystyrene foam, which may be due to the squeeze film effect caused by the external ultrasound excitation of the surface.