Micromanufactured Tactile Samples for Characterization of Rough and Dry Tactile Perception

The quantitative characterization of tactile perception, which is crucial in the design of tactile devices, requires the tested samples to have individually and precisely controlled properties associated with the senses. In this work, we microfabricated such tactile samples and then quantitatively characterized tactile perception with a focus on roughness and dryness. In the roughness perception experiments, the tactile samples had a stripe pattern with ridge and groove widths that were individually controlled. The experimental results revealed that the feeling of roughness was more dominated by the width of the groove than that of the ridge and that conventionally used roughness parameters such as Sa and Sq were not sufficient for predicting roughness perception. In the dryness perception experiments, the tactile samples had a micropattern formed by dry etching and an array of squares. The experimental results revealed that dry perception had different properties when the feature sizes were below and above 30 µm, which may have been due to the effect of adhesion on friction. The proposed tactile samples were suitable for the quantitative and precise characterization of tactile perception.