SURFACE FEEDBACK FOR VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT SYSTEMS USING ELECTRORHEOLOGICAL FLUIDS

A tactile array system, when incorporated in an information system, pr ovides a means of conveying tactile data to the user. Such arrays have many applications including simulators for training purposes and Brai lle systems for the blind. The use of ER fluids in these systems would provide an inexpensive alternative to the existing technologies becau se of the simple and flexible designs. An experimental study has been conducted which involves a simple 5x5 array of tactels, each tactel be ing independently energised in order to configure a variety of shapes. A series of tests are carried out on two different types of ER fluids under a range of electric fields and sensor speeds. The results show that for the given tactel spacing, the programmed shapes are easily de tected for all conditions and are directly comparable to similar tests undertaken on a solid shape.