PinPad: Touchpad Interaction with Fast and High-Resolution Tactile Output

Abstract

We explored new interaction scenarios that can be realized when a touchpad outputs fast and high-resolution spatio-temporal tactile patterns to the touch-sensitive skin on the fingertips of a user. We first constructed a special tactile multi-touch touchpad called PinPad, which was capable of outputting fast and high-resolution tactile patterns using a 40 x 25 array of actuated pins. We then developed various interaction scenarios that could be realized using the prototype: 1) Tactile Target, 2) Guide and Constraint, 3) Multi-finger Output, and 4) Dynamic Partition. To evaluate the PinPad scenarios, we implemented demo applications, and conducted interviews with users to collect feedback about their experiences with PinPad and the PinPad scenarios. The participants confirmed the effectiveness of spatio-temporal outputs of PinPad in the scenarios. In particular, they provided diverse feedback regarding the unique tactile experiences of the fast and high-resolution outputs of PinPad.