STIMTAC: a tactile input device with programmable friction

We present the STIMTAC, a touchpad device that supports friction reduction. Contrary to traditional vibrotactile approaches, the STIMTAC provides information passively, acting as a texture display. It does not transfer energy to the user but modifies how energy is dissipated within the contact area by a user-initiated friction process. We report on the iterative process that led to the current hardware design and briefly describe the software framework that we are developing to illustrate its potential.