Tactile displays that lend tangible form to digital content could transform computing interactions. However, achieving the resolution, speed, and dynamic range needed for perceptual fidelity remains challenging. We present a tactile display that directly converts projected light into visible tactile patterns via a photomechanical surface populated with millimeter-scale optotactile pixels. The pixels transduce incident light into mechanical displacements through photostimulated thermal gas expansion, yielding millimeter scale displacements with response times of 2 to 100 milliseconds. Employing projected light for power transmission and addressing renders these displays highly scalable. We demonstrate optically driven displays with up to 1,511 addressable pixels -- several times more pixels than any prior tactile display attaining comparable performance. Perceptual studies confirm that these displays can reproduce diverse spatiotemporal tactile patterns with high fidelity. This research establishes a foundation for practical, versatile high-resolution tactile displays driven by light.
@article{arxiv.2410.05494,
title = {Tactile Displays Driven by Projected Light},
author = {Max Linnander and Dustin Goetz and Gregory Reardon and Vijay Kumar and Elliot Hawkes and Yon Visell},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2410.05494},
year = {2026}
}