A multimodal haptic interface for simultaneous Softness and thermal modulation
File(s)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Brown, Joshua
Bello, Fernando
Jones, Lynette
Type
Conference Paper
Abstract
Haptic interactions, such as touching an object in virtual reality, involve detecting a plethora of sensations through the skin. Whilst tactile displays exist to simulate and manipulate all of these cues individually, little progress has been made constructing devices that can control multiple cues simultaneously. This paper presents a tactile display technology that offers both softness and temperature change.
A prototype display, based on particle jamming and the thermal transfer of heated and cooled water, is evaluated in terms of its ability to change both stiffness and temperature. Mechanical evaluations demonstrate controllable stiffness increase of 300%, whilst thermal characterisation showed strong surface uniformity and a range of achievable temperatures from 10 ⁰C up to 50 ⁰C, with closed-loop control maintaining a ±0.2 ⁰C error from a setpoint. This work advances the design of multimodal tactile displays with applications to perceptual research, medical simulation, and affective haptics.
A prototype display, based on particle jamming and the thermal transfer of heated and cooled water, is evaluated in terms of its ability to change both stiffness and temperature. Mechanical evaluations demonstrate controllable stiffness increase of 300%, whilst thermal characterisation showed strong surface uniformity and a range of achievable temperatures from 10 ⁰C up to 50 ⁰C, with closed-loop control maintaining a ±0.2 ⁰C error from a setpoint. This work advances the design of multimodal tactile displays with applications to perceptual research, medical simulation, and affective haptics.
Date Issued
2026-07-28
Date Acceptance
2026-03-30
Citation
15th International Conference on Human Haptic Sensing and Touch Enabled Computer Applications, EuroHaptics 2026, 2026, pp.11-20
Publisher
Springer
Start Page
11
End Page
20
Journal / Book Title
15th International Conference on Human Haptic Sensing and Touch Enabled Computer Applications, EuroHaptics 2026
Copyright Statement
© 2027 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG. This is the author’s accepted manuscript made available under a CC-BY licence in accordance with Imperial’s Research Publications Open Access policy (www.imperial.ac.uk/oa-policy)
License URL
Identifier
http://www.super-lab.org/
Source
EuroHaptics 2026
Publication Status
Published online
Start Date
2026-07-06
Finish Date
2026-07-09
Coverage Spatial
Siena, Italy