Laser-Powered Vibrotactile Rendering

Abstract

We investigate the feasibility of a vibrotactile device that is both battery-free and electronic-free. Our approach leverages lasers as a wireless power transfer and haptic control mechanism, which can drive small actuators commonly used in AR/VR and mobile applications with DC or AC signals. To validate the feasibility of our method, we developed a proof-of-concept prototype that includes low-cost eccentric rotating mass (ERM) motors and linear resonant actuators (LRAs) connected to photovoltaic (PV) cells. This prototype enabled us to capture laser energy from any distance across a room and analyze the impact of critical parameters on the effectiveness of our approach. Through a user study, testing 16 different vibration patterns rendered using either a single motor or two motors, we demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach in generating vibration patterns of comparable quality to a baseline, which rendered the patterns using a signal generator.