Fingertip friction modulation due to electrostatic attraction

The human fingertip is extremely sensitive to lateral (shear) forces that arise in surface exploration. We and others have developed haptic displays that work by modulating surface friction via electrostatic attraction. Despite the demonstrated ability of these displays to render haptic environments, an understanding of the fingertip-surface interface is lacking. We have developed a tribometer for measuring the lateral frictional forces on a fingertip under well-controlled conditions. We show an expected square law dependence of frictional force (and inferred electrostatic normal force) on actuation voltage, although we observe a large person to person variability. We model an expected dependence of the frictional force on the frequency of the actuation voltage, predicting a first order cut off below about 500Hz. However, our measurements are unambiguously at odds with the model's predictions.