Frequency based tactile rendering method for pin-array tactile devices

In interactive Internet of Things (IoT) environment, a solenoid-based tiny pin-array tactile device can become a key module to haptically simulate a surface of interconnected objects. The solenoid-based pin-array tactile device creates a large enough force and stroke to stimulate human skin and generates a wide frequency range. The solenoid-based tiny pin-array tactile device, however, brings a new issue of controlling the pin’s stroke of the tactile device. To overcome the limitation of the solenoid-based device, a new tactile rendering method is needed. In the proposed tactile rendering method, we control the operating frequency of pins, instead of controlling their stroke, to haptically simulate the surface of interconnected objects. Our experiments demonstrate that our proposed method with a pin-array tactile device is suitable for simulating the surface of interconnected objects.