Haptic overlay device for flat panel touch displays

摘要

Summary form only given. In an effort to present users with an increasing amount of information, many industries including automotive and aerospace are adopting flat panel touch displays as a user interface. These interfaces are becoming popular due to their reconfigurability so that control and display functions can be embedded in multiple layers or menus. However, one of the disadvantages of this approach is the need for the user to constantly look at the display to operate it. In this paper, a haptic overlay device (HOD) is used to address user distraction issues. The HOD is comprised of a conventional off the shelf touch screen display, a custom haptic device, electronics and software. The haptic device has been designed to fit over top of the touch screen. With the HOD, a user is able to feel items, such as buttons and sliders, on the screen.