Detection of tangential force for a touch panel using shear deformation of the gel

Abstract

Many capacitive touch panels detect the position and contact area of the user finger, and can estimate the vertical force from the change in the contact area. However, they cannot detect and measure the tangential force. This research aims to enable the measurement of tangential force using a gel layer, which deforms when a tangential force is applied. By measuring the finger motion of the user, we can estimate tangential force from the gel spring ratio. Using this input method, any part of the touch panel surface becomes a joystick, or virtual objects can be modeled by deforming them with the fingers.