Non-contact wearable tactile display using airflows

Abstract

Traditional wearable tactile displays transfer information through a firm contact between the tactile stimulator and the skin. The firm contact, however, may limit the location of wearable tactile displays and can be the source of discomfort when the skin is being exposed to prolonged contact. We suspected that one of the key requirements for future wearable tactile displays would be the distance-tolerance and explored the non-contact wearable tactile displays that transfer information in a distance of daily clothing without contact between tactile actuators and the skin. In this dissertation, we first claimed the concept of non-contact wearable tactile display and the requirements based on the previous work on wearability and wearable tactile displays. Secondly, we investigated the feasibility of non-contact wearable tactile display as an information display using airflows, one of the non-contact tactile stimulation methods. Finally, we built a prototype in a glasses form factor and discovered how people utilize the novel design space allowed by the non-contact tactile display to deliver various types of information for wearable devices.