Development of integrated tactile display devices

As a major human sensory function, the implementation of the tactile sensation for the human-machine interface has been one of the core research interests for long time. In this research, tactile display devices based on dielectric elastomer are introduced among the works recently done by ourselves. Using dielectric elastomer for the construction of the tactile interface, it can provide stimulation on the human skin without any additional electromechanical transmission. Softness and flexibility of the device structure, ease of fabrication, possibility for miniaturization, and cost effectiveness are the representative benefits of the presented devices. Especially, the device application is open to a wide variety of purposes since the flexible structure offers excellent adaptability to any contour of the human body as well as the other objects. In this paper, the design of the interfaces is briefly explained and several examples of implementation are introduced.