“Tactile Display Based on Low-Cost Circuit Board Fabrication”

Microsystems Society

Microsystems Boston Organizing Committee, it’s my pleasure to invite you to our February Tech Talk event.

The details of the event are as follows:

Speaker: Dr. Jonathan Bernstein, Fellow at Draper Laboratory

Agenda: 

5:30-6:30pm: Networking Dinner

6:30pm – 7:30pm: Tech Talk and Q&A

RSVP: Please register at your earliest convenience using this link. This will be an in-person meeting.

Outline:

• Overview of Draper MEMS (15 min)
• Tactile Display based on Low-Cost Circuit Board Fabrication (30 min)

Tactile Display Abstract

This talk will describe a tactile display based on CMT (Capacitive Micromachined Transducer) actuation using low-cost circuit boards in place of silicon or glass wafers.

There are hundreds of millions of people world-wide who are blind or vision-impaired (BVI) that would benefit from a tactile display which can communicate low-resolution images or Braille text.  It is estimated that 50% of internet content is images, currently inaccessible to BVI.  This represents a significant barrier to education and employment.  Large area refreshable tactile displays based on arrays of electromechanical actuators are in development, but are expensive, typically $12k – $30k for a tablet sized instrument.

The human fingertip is very sensitive to vibration, about 100X more sensitive than to static bumps.  A vibratory display needs to move only a few microns to be sensed, in contrast to refreshable tactile displays (which raise and lower static bumps) to a height of 500 um.  Vibratory motion of 5-10 um is achievable using a capacitively actuated array of transducers.  We will show some early prototypes fabricated using low-cost printed circuit boards (PCBs), FEA modeling and polytec laser vibrometry of the surface motion (in collaboration with Tufts University) and describe the inclusion of electrets into the devices to reduce the required actuation voltages.

Speaker Bio:

Dr. Jonathan Bernstein is a Draper Laboratory Fellow, the highest level on the Draper technical ladder.  He is responsible for MEMS technology development for specific programs and for platform technologies, including high accuracy sensors and resonators in hermetically sealed silicon chips with through-silicon vias.

With 38 years of experience inventing, designing, and building MEMS devices, Jonathan’s expertise spans inertial guidance (Tuning Fork Gyro, accelerometers), acoustics (MEMS microphones and hydrophones), micro-mirrors for optical switches and medical endoscopy, solid state atom sources and other areas.  He has over 70 publications in refereed journals and conferences and holds more than 59 US patents.

Joining Draper in 1987, Jon advanced through the engineering organization to become a Lab Fellow.  In 2000, he joined a startup that became Corning-IntelliSense as VP of technology.  Returning to Draper in 2004, he resumed his engineering role, leading projects for DARPA, Trident, Lawrence Livermore National Lab, and other clients.

Jonthan holds a BSEE in Electrical Engineering and Physics from Princeton University, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in EECS from UC Berkeley, with concentrations in chemical engineering and materials science.  He has received NSF and Hertz Foundation fellowships, as well as honors and awards from Motorola, Corning, and multiple Draper best-patent, best-paper and Distinguished Performance awards.

Thanks and we look forward to meeting you soon!

Tyler, Director of Publicity, IEEE Microsystems Boston Chapter

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